No More Runnin'
by AbstractAlexia
Summary: Sequel to Just Run and Survive. She started something in him. When the reckless girl, Raelynn Winters is gone with just a note left behind, Daryl Dixon is determined to find answers. But when they realize that she's not the only one out there, it's a divided community. She can't worry about that now. She's about to look into the eyes of the Devil and she's not runnin' away.
1. Gone

**A/N :** I'm really sorry this didn't go up yesterday Saturday but I was super busy (plus, trying to edit a nice art to go with the story. Anyone wanna help?). But anyway, Hello! Welcome back to the sequel of Just Run and Survive: No More Runnin'! If you're just joining us, then welcome but please read the first story before this one as you won't understand anything. This story does not follow any of the seasons from The Walking Dead, even though the previous story relied on some pieces of Season 5 and Season 6. This is my own imagination and telling of the world. If you've already read JRS then welcome back and I hope you enjoy the sequel. I missed this so much, I hope you did too. Be prepared, my friends! You're in for a roller coaster of a journey. Let's begin!

 **Disclaimer** : I do not own The Walking Dead or any of the characters affiliated with the series or franchise. I do, however, own my character, Raelynn Winters, among others that will be mentioned throughout this story. Please do not use my characters or the storyline in any way, shape or form without permission or by my request. Thank you.

-A.A

* * *

 _You're the only one I'm gonna write to, so here it goes..._

 _...I'm sorry, Daryl_

His heart. There was something wrong with his heart. It didn't feel like it was in his chest anymore. It felt more like it was in his stomach, or his feet, flatlining on the ground. It felt strange. It felt foreign. Daryl felt strange, all throughout his body. It was as if he was suddenly aware of his entire body like the way his feet were so firmly planted on the ground and how the oxygen moved through his nostrils down his throat to his lungs. He could practically feel the nerves in his body act up in his fingertips just like they did earlier in the day. But that was before he knew what he knew now yet the feeling was the same. Daryl looked down at the paper in his hands and he realized how hard he was clutching on it, the sides were tattered from his grip and tears were visible on the sides near the handwriting. When he realized this, he folded the paper and stuffed it into his breast pocket of his leather vest. He could have sworn he heard himself groan but he couldn't be sure. All he knew was that he noticed his knuckles were hurt and there was a hole in the wall of his room. But, there was one more thing he knew.

Daryl left the house, his mind was a blurry mess and his legs seemed to be on autopilot. He moved his mangy hair out of his face with the flick of his head and walked down the street toward Aaron's place in the safe haven community, Alexandria. It's been more than two weeks since they've arrived with Aaron and it already felt so familiar. And while they had had their rows and disagreements with the Alexandrians because of the death of Pete and Aiden and other issues, Rick's group were already well adjusted to life behind the walls. Daryl would be included in that well adjusted state but now things were different. In the short distance, Daryl saw Aaron with his own backpack on his shoulders, looking at Daryl's motorcycle curiously. As he neared, he watched as Aaron fiddled with the throttle. But when he made his way over, he didn't say anything. Normally, he would be picky about people touching his motorcycle, but this was not one of the those times. Aaron looked up at him and smiled, pulling his hand away and securing putting it on the straps of his bag.

"Hey," he said, "You ready to go now?" Originally, they were on their way to go on their first scouting job since their first week. They had decided to put a stop to it for a while out of respect for the deaths that had occurred in that short span of time. Deanna, the leader of the community alongside Rick, decided that it was time to go back to normalcy and so she approved of this scout. But, Daryl didn't listen. He straddled the motorcycle and took off the brake, starting it up.

"Daryl?" But it was like his ears were being covered, all the sounds were muffled or muted. He could only hear the blooding pumping in his veins. He rode the motorcycle down the road, toward the gates where his fellow survivors, Abraham and Eugene were on guard duty. Upon noticing him, they turned towards him. Abraham saw Aaron following behind him, with a confused expression and the ginger turned back to the redneck.

"What's up, man?"

Daryl didn't answer but when the gates weren't opened for him, he put the brake on his bike and got off. He pushed past Eugene and went the gate, beginning to push it open.

"Uh, Daryl, you were not cleared to go by yourself," Eugene said, "I would advise you to wait for Aaron." But Daryl didn't listen, he continued to pull back the gates until it was completely open. Abraham saw the distress in his actions and went up to him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Daryl, what is goin' on with you?" Daryl shrugged Abraham's hand off of his shoulder. Unlike Eugene, however, Abraham didn't take the aggression lightly. He gripped Daryl's shoulder tightly and pulled him to look at him, against the wall near the opened gates.

"What the fuck is your problem? What crawled up your ass and died?" Daryl glared at Abraham and struggled against him but he wouldn't budge. Aaron caught up just as Daryl clenched his fist and muttered something under his breath.

"Daryl," Aaron said breathlessly from running towards them, "What's wrong?"

"Let me go," Daryl growled to Abraham.

"Not 'til you tell me what's got your panties in a bunch," Abraham said.

"Gone," Daryl muttered. He felt Abraham's grip loosen on his shoulder.

"Alright, bud. What's gone? The hell are ya talkin bout?" Daryl's eyes met his and he almost didn't want to say it out loud. Because then it'd be true. But that was the thing, it was true in every sense of the word.

"Rae," he said gruffly, "Gone."

At first he told himself that he would go after any of them - from Rick's group, maybe even Aaron - if they were missing. He convinced himself that he would do the same for all of them but he was lying to himself. She was different. Maybe not from the moment they met, but Raelynn Winters grew on Daryl as they spent their weeks together after they found her starving and about to take his head off in an abandoned pharmacy. He knew she always had a spunk to her, from the moment she put a gun to the back of his head and called him a 'dickhead.' In another time, looking back on it might have made him laugh. Thinking back to how he wasn't going to waste two seconds with the ebony haired woman before but they were constantly put in each other's path. And now, when they were separated, all he wanted to do was going after her. He didn't trust her at first - hell, he didn't like her in the least bit especially after trying to kill him and repeating disobeying the rules. He still didn't feel bad about shoving her face into the counter so hard that she had a bruise on her forehead for a few days. It was all a matter of security and precaution. But he always curious about her and it only grew as they spent more time together. How she killed without any hesitation or remorse; how she could probably drink him under the table and how she was so afraid of certain things. It baffled him and in that time that they were put into each other's path, they grew close. So close that maybe Daryl even regrets it now; because now all he wanted to do was find her. To find her and hear what she wrote from her own lips.

"Daryl." He looked up and saw his friend, his brother in combat, Rick Grimes looking up at him, concerned and worried, "What's going on?" He had heard the commotion - saw it, even - and he came over to see what was all the fuss about.

"She's gone," he said, "Rae's gone and I'm goin after 'er."

 _...But I'm a quitter_

 _I'll only cause harm to you all..._

* * *

It was all cloud and fog. Her mind was blurry and spinning around and around like a goddamn carousel and she hated it. Raelynn could have sworn she heard laughter, a light chuckling in the air but then again she didn't smell anything fresh like air. She didn't smell anything at all. The only thing she knew was her head was swimming and she didn't want to drown. It was a child's laughter, a familiar sound. But she couldn't place where it was coming from - somewhere from the recesses of her mind. She heard herself groan but her brain didn't want her to wake up because it was currently on the spin cycle. She thought it was her that groaned, that is. She didn't know. Maybe she was dead (oh what a lovely thought, Raelynn. You're fucking dead. So much for positivity, she scolded herself). Maybe the blow to the back of her head finally killed her or someone killed her while she was knocked out. This could be her heaven, for all she knew. The empty, hollow swimming feeling locked up in her head mixed with children's laughter and a faint sound of static. If this was her heaven, it was a piece of shit. But she knew it wasn't. If there was a God out there, she figure He (or She, Raelynn didn't like to discriminate) wouldn't be this cruel. She knew this wasn't her heaven.

She knew exactly what she would have wanted for this to be her heaven. So, maybe it was her own personal Hell. It was pretty damn close.

She heard something else but she didn't know if it was here or there. In her mind or out of it. There were voices, mutters and murmurs of different voices and she couldn't pinpoint where it was coming from. It felt like a ghost - like a wind that cascaded from one ear to the other and then back again. _Goddamn,_ did her head hurt. Fuck, she thought, where's the medicine when I needed it? She didn't care if it was a little pill of painkillers or a large dose of Vicodin, she needed something for the pain. Knock her out again, if you had to, just stop the fucking spinning. Why the hell didn't her eyes open either? She tried and tried but nothing. It was like she was in an endless loop of unconsciousness. The laughter persisted in her mind along with the various voices. A child's laughter - more than one now. She really needed to wake up but all the shit in her mind was making her woozy again. Raelynn felt herself going out of it again. But before she did, she willed herself to open her eyes one more time. It was only for one second and just a tiny little parting. Her vision was blurry and she could feel her head move from one side to the other.

Holy hell, she was going to throw up. She was going to puke her stomach out if things kept going the way they were. She caught a glimpse of the blurry ground. It was progress. Dark. Brown. Soft to the touch. Dirt. Back in the goddamn woods somewhere. Across from her, she caught a quick glimpse of a pair of blurry legs and feet. She knew those shoes, those dark boots that just seemed a bit too big for the legs that were attached. Even in her delirious state, she knew who it was. Carl. She would sigh in relief if she wasn't concentrating on keeping her eyes open. Was he even alive? Jesus, she didn't want to even think about it. The muttering, laughter and spinning grew more and more and Raelynn wanted to scream, groan and curse all at once. She was going insane from it all. Her brain only managed to catch the groan and she felt herself groan in her chest. Her eyes were getting heavier, heavier until she had to shut them. Fuck, she needed them to keep them open. She had to find out if Carl was even fucking alive! She had to get to him before the people that knocked them out did. Then she heard more movement, more laughter and more voices and Raelynn was convinced that she had gone completely insane without even being conscious. But the voices seemed to be overpowering them all now. It seemed closer to her, more in reality than in her mind - so close she could even make out some of the words.

"...think...happy?"

"...know….awake?"

"...yet...eventually."

"..anything...kid...up…"

"Mm..Ugh...Rae?"

Carl. She didn't know the other voices. Hell - she could barely make out some of the words let alone pay attention to the voices. All she cared about was Carl's puberty breaking voice. She didn't give a rat's ass about the other voices; all that mattered to her was she heard Carl's voice. He was alive. In what condition was another problem entirely but that could be dealt with later - if there was a later. No, she scolded herself in her unconscious state. Of course there was going to be a later. Because she would get through this - no, _they_ would get through this. She's gonna wake up, kick those people's asses - kill a few (if there were a few) if need be - and get Carl out of whatever mess she got them into.

But her brain had other plans. It began to mush and mash and swirl and whirl. So much so that Raelynn probably did vomit. She didn't know exactly. She was more there than here.

She shut down between the mash and the swirl, back into her incoherent mind of children's laughter and the new sounds of familiar voices running through her mind. But these voices weren't like the ones before. They were inside her mind. Jesus fuckin' Christ, I've gone completely fucking crazy, she thought to herself. I'm going crazy inside my own fucking head. She couldn't hear a word they were saying - it was all muffled and muttered - but she could tell who they were just from the sound - the hum in their tone. The lightness of it. The gruffness of it. The raspiness of it. The cheer in one and the maturity in another. The familiar voices relaxed her. They soothed and calmed her. Just before she lulled back into black, she wondered again if she was really dead. Because those voices were exactly what she wanted in her heaven.

 _This had to be done..._

 _...Try to save your own ass, okay?_

* * *

"What are you talkin' 'bout?" asked Rick, "What do you mean?"

Daryl couldn't take it. All the questions and no action. He needed to do something not sit there and explain. It was all too frustrating for him. He muttered curses under his breath, in his head and they echoed in the crevasses of his mind. He couldn't just stand there. He didn't want to.

"Ya know what I mean," he said deeply, "Let me go. I'm going after her." He pushed off the wall and started to push through the people that were surrounding him. But Rick wouldn't have it. He pushed him back into the wall and his eyes stared back at Daryl's blue ones.

"Not so fast," he said gently, "Let's talk about this first. How did ya know she's not here?"

Daryl sighed and wiped his mouth of the spit that he finally realized was there. It probably got there from flailing and growling like an animal. Part of him wanted to tell Rick to fuck off and go off to find Raelynn. The other part of him knew that Rick was right. As much as he hated to admit it.

"She left me a note in my bag," Daryl explained, "She said she was long gone by now so she pro'ly left late last night. I'm going after her, Rick. Don't care what you say. I'm going after her."

"Left you a note?" chimed in Abraham, "So she wanted t' go? If that's what she wants, why don't you be a good pup and leave 'er be?" Daryl growled and if it wasn't for Rick holding him back, he might've tackled him. He refrained himself though. He really want to and punch that dumb statement out of his vocabulary. Rick looked at Daryl, his hand on his shoulder gently.

"It's okay," he said, "We'll track her, alright? See if we can find out where she went." Daryl nodded, feeling a piece of the heavy weight on his shoulder lift away. Rick continued as he straightened his back, "I gotta tell Carl before we go to look after Judith. Everyone else is on double duty while we're gone." Daryl nodded and made a grab for his motorcycle. Rick walked away from the huddled group and walked down the road, toward the house. Daryl looked up and met the eyes of Abraham as he moved his motorcycle away from the crowd and inspect it once more away from the masses.

Abraham grunted, "You got it bad, don't cha?"

Daryl sneered at him but chose not to respond. He watched as Aaron and Eugene took glances at him while Aaron went home and Eugene continued with his guard duty. Daryl noticed a new scratch on the side of his bike. He had only left his motorcycle once. Fuck it, he thought to himself. Ain't a big deal, not as big as the one that left the fuckin' community. He turned off his motorcycle and led it back to Aaron's garage. He figured Rick would want to just have one vehicle burning gas instead of two. At the house, he met the eyes of Aaron who sat on the porch steps as he rolled the motorcycle to its place. Daryl didn't say anything but he nodded to Aaron and he figured that he would know that he was sorry for skipping out on the recruit. Aaron nodded back and Daryl knew that he understood, better than anyone maybe. As he traveled back towards the gates, he saw Rick rush past him. He didn't even know that he had walked out of the house to begin with. But the way he rushed past his friend made Daryl all the more concerned and he jogged toward Rick, who was heading towards the gates anyway.

"Rick, what's going on?" At the sound of his friend's voice, Rick turned around and faced aryl. He was different, in a span of only a few minutes. His eyes were frantic and darted from one place to another. His face was pale, almost gray in color while his hands were shaking as he laid them on Daryl's shoulders.

"Daryl, have you seen Carl?"

"Nah," he replied, "Haven't seen 'im since we did that job wit' Rae and the walkers."

"He's not in his room. Enid hasn't seen 'im either. Not Carol or Maggie or Glenn. He's gone. He's not here, he's gone too." Even though he was itching to find Raelynn, to see her and know she was okay, Daryl also knew that Raelynn was an adult, a grown woman who proved that she could and would take care of herself outside of the walls. She had done it for months on her own before even meeting them. But Carl was different. He was just a kid, a damn tough ass one but still, a kid. One that probably wouldn't last as long as Rae if he was outside of the walls. And his father was worried as hell about him. Daryl placed his hand on Rick's shoulder, and the ones that were on his shoulders slid down limply to Rick's sides. Daryl patted his shoulder gently, squeezing it and immediately going into a more dominant and focused Daryl.

"It's alright, man. We'll find 'im. We'll find both of 'em."

 _...Don't come looking for me_

 _Goodbye, Daryl..._


	2. Alive

**A/N:** For future reference, this story will hopefully be updated every Saturday. But last week, unfortunately I was unable to post. Sadly, my 12 yr old papillon pup passed away last Tuesday morning and I was feeling incredibly lonely and unmotivated to do anything since she was usually with me when I wrote. Writing this note is the first time I'm touching my laptop since then. Thankfully, I wrote this chapter before her passing so all I have to do is edit it slightly and post it. I'm feeling a lot better now so I will be finishing the next chapter for next week. Anyway, sorry for the sob story I just thought I'd be honest with my lovely readers for my absence. So, enjoy this chapter because this is where things get rolling!

\- A.A

* * *

They searched more, all over Alexandria for some sign of Carl. For hours, Rick only seemed to grow more and more pale with every 'haven't seen him' and 'last I saw him.' There was no sign of Carl. He wasn't in his room, or any of the houses (Rick insisted on searching each and every one) or in the fields where they grew their crops or their storage where they kept their food. Rick was convinced he may have found a hiding spot and went there to escape for a little while. But every nook and cranny was searched and there was no sign of him. He had even taken his sheriff's hat with him. Rick, distraught and worried sick, clenched his fists as he laid his head in his hands. Daryl was next to him, watching as his brother in arms looked completely defeated. He wondered if that's how he looked just a few hours ago, when he was worried about Raelynn. It wasn't like he had just forgotten about her in the small amount of time that they had been searching for Carl. It wasn't like that at all. If anything, he worried more. But he needed to be the good head on the shoulders of the two of them if Rick wasn't able to. When he saw that his friend was shaking from his nerves with bloodshot eyes, Daryl nudged him.

"Hey," he said, "You know what?"

"What?" asked Rick, his voice slightly froggy.

"This reminds me 'lot of the prison," Daryl said, "You 'member what happened?" Rick nodded, he didn't need to be reminded but he remembered. It was stuck to him like a virus. He lost his wife and he almost lost his son when he got too trigger happy with his gun. They all lost T-Dog, Hershel, and others all because of the Governor. But what had set him off - or more likely, made him snap - was the death of his wife, Lori. He couldn't even find her body, to see her face once more. All he knew was that she was gone; she had given birth to Judith and he would never see her again. His wife of over 15 years, one of the two people that made him fight to survive and reach them in the beginning of the apocalypse, was gone. But that was the thing, he thought to himself, he did see her. His mind felt like it was swimming in and out of reality because he had seen her. Rick remembered seeing his late wife in a beautiful wife silk gown. He remembered speaking to her and her touch against his cheek. He felt lost and disconnected - that was the right word. That's how he felt now. Disconnected because Rick had lost his son just like he lost his wife.

"Yeah," he breathed, "I remember." Daryl crossed his arms against his chest.

"Almost lost ya then," he muttered.

Daryl was a man of few words but a lot of feelings, contrary to popular belief. When he cared, you better believed he cared with every bone in his body and piece of his soul, blood or otherwise. Rick was no exception to this. When he saw the man he had come to care for like a brother, broken and detached from reality, he was concerned. He had never seen him like that, so desperate and confused. It hurt Daryl then and it hurt him now, more now because he had an idea of what he went through. Even still, he knew he had to be strong for the two of them so that their group would not weaken. Because no matter what they were going through, their survival was the most important. You had to remember to be strong and resilient.

"We can't lose ya this time. I won't let that happen, man. Your boy needs ya. Lil Asskicker needs her old man, you got that? You wanna find 'im? You gotta go get 'im. You fight and you fight hard." Rick looked up at his friend, who looked back at him with soft blue oceanic eyes.

"That how you feel about Raelynn? You wanna find 'er, so you're gonna go get 'er?" Daryl patted Rick's shoulder and breathed in deep. He let it out slowly and had the sudden urge for a cigarette.

"Somethin' like that," Daryl replied and nudged his friend on the shoulder, "So we goin' or what?" Rick wiped his eyes and smiled lightly as he squeezed Daryl's shoulder, nodding and looked at his friend, a look of a broken man filled with determination. He stood up.

"We're goin."

* * *

Goddamn, what time was it? Who the fuck turned on the lights in the place? What kind of asshole put lights in someone's face anyway? Raelynn made a reminder in her head to kick that person's face in when she saw who it was. But man, did her head hurt - worse than any hangover she's ever had. And she's had plenty in her lifetime of legal (and some illegal) drinking escapades. Jesus, what she wouldn't do for some meds. The pain in the back of her head, as she noticed that her head wasn't swimming as it was before, only grew worse. But it seemed that the pain was making her more aware of her reality. She cursed as she felt herself shift and a shot of pain waved down her neck to her back.

"Rae? Are you up?"

"Barely," she grunted. Raelynn, for the second time, tried to open her eyes, willingly them to open more than a millimeter. Thankfully, they decided to listen and slowly she opened them - only to be met with the fucking blinding light. She groaned again and raised her arm up to shield her from the sun until she got better acquainted with it. When she did so, however, she was met with resistance. She squinted against the blaring light, mentally confirming that she was outside still - sitting on the dirt. Raelynn's brows drew close as she pulled at her arm again, thinking that maybe her arms was asleep and heavy. But no - only more resistance. Her eyes were beginning to get more friendly toward the sun, they adjusted and her vision cleared - even if her head wasn't doing the same.

"Where are we?" she heard herself ask Carl as she took in her surroundings. The sun was indeed out and blaring down at them - roasting them. If she had to guess she would say it was early afternoon but it was hard to tell exactly. The sky had a mix of blue, yellow and tinge of pink near the godforsaken sun. The dirt was cold against her ass even in her jeans, slightly muddy too.

"No idea," he said, "Doesn't look familiar." She looked at the voice and saw Carl, sitting in the same position she was in. Against a tree, hands and ankles tied with rope with a knot. It was a relief to see his shaggy brown hair, covering his pale face slightly. His face, she noticed, didn't look damaged, bruised or cut in any way that wasn't there before they were knocked out. His dark brown eyes that made him really resemble his father looked back at her with determination and only a little bit of fear. She had no doubt that the kid was tough. His wrists were red caused by rubbing against the rope in an attempt to escape. She knew the red meant the rope was burning against his skin. She knew the feeling well.

Raelynn looked down at her own wrists to see hers were roped up as well but hers were more intricately knotted than Carl's. There were multiple knots and possibly more than one piece of rope - she wasn't sure just from looking. Either they underestimated Carl's ability to get out of it or they overestimated Raelynn's ability - both were correct. She sighed and without word started to roll her wrists against the rough texture of the rope; her wrists began to have that familiar burn and sting as it dug into her flesh. She tried to work past the annoyance and nodded to Carl.

"How long have I been out?"

"Dunno, few hours at least. I woke up when two of them decided to go and check the perimeter." Raelynn rose an eyebrow as she lowered her head down toward her bound wrists and began to bite at the rope, gnawing at it and trying to moisten it. Even though the feeling was familiar to her, that didn't mean that it didn't hurt. It did - like your wrists are slowly being sawed off with a laser. It brought back the memories of when Bruce would purposely tighten them to the point of almost cutting off her circulation. It made the pain so much worse with her hands numb. But, she reminded herself, now wasn't the time for a bad memory. She had to get Carl out of here.

"More than two? Hmph, I always like a challenge. What they look like?" Again, Carl shrugged and jerked his head to the side, moving some of his hair out of his face.

"Never saw their faces," he said, "just heard their voices. Two of them. But there could be more than that for all we know." Raelynn nodded as she managed to feel her wrists loosen against the ropes. It was only slightly but it was something.

"Bastards," she muttered as she felt the ropes begin to cut her flesh and fresh blood saturated the ropes. Carl watched and grimaced.

"It's no use," he said, "I've tried. It's too tight." Other than a 'that's what he said' opportunity, Raelynn saw nothing of importance in his statement. She tried harder and winced as it dug further into her wrists.

"This isn't that bad," she groaned, "I've had worse." She bite her lip and continued, almost violently jerking her wrists from side to side, up and down and every other way to Sunday. Carl watched with furrowed eyes in concentration as she groaned with pain, but her determination was fueling her actions. They both knew it. Raelynn leaned down and bite down at her restraints, pulling at it like a rabid dog. It hurt her jaw like hell but she kept at it. She could practically taste the blood from the ropes. It wasn't too long until she felt the ropes loosen more - enough to move her hands freely. With a smirk, she tore away at the rope from her wrists. Luckily for her, there weren't two pieces of ropes to get through, just the one difficult and painful one. But she did it.

Carl watched in awe as she quickly shook out her hands and started for her ankles. They were easier to get through and she was out in mere seconds. Breathing hard and fast, she crawled over to Carl and untied his wrists and ankles as well. When she did, Carl slowly made his way to his feet, even though his legs were still wobbly. But he was much more steady than Raelynn and he wrapped an arm around her waist and helped her up.

She took a few breaths and put a hand on his shoulder and patted him in a friendly manner and the two looked at each other. It felt nice to have contact with him, to touch his shoulder and know that he was real. He wasn't a figment of her own guilt or imagination.

"It's good to see ya, kid." He smirked at her and let go of her once she was steady on her feet, "It's good to see you too, Rae."

"Let's get outta here." Then, they started to move away from the campsite, in whatever direction. But they heard the sound of a cocked gun and Raelynn placed her arm around Carl's shoulder safely.

"I don't think so," someone behind them said, "Turn around, Raelynn." The ebony haired woman clenched her fists tightly by her side, her hand squeezing Carl's shoulder and smirked. A wave of both nostalgia and anxiety coursed through her from toes to her cheeks.

"Well, I'll be damned," Raelynn breathed with a laugh, turning around to face the person as she shielded Carl behind her back, "It's you."

* * *

He growled. He was frustrated and angry. Daryl punched the trunk of the nearest tree and leaned against it. His head hung and his eyes were closed. He and Rick had gone outside the walls to search and so far, zilch. Nada, and it only frustrated him even more. He could feel his heart pound against his chest and his feet throb in his boots. He couldn't even begin to think about how long they've been out here. Four hours maybe, five or six at most. And still not even a whiff of where they could have gone. Carl and Raelynn have been outside for well over 12 hours. As much as he hated to admit it, the worst case scenario was that they were dead by walkers. But he knew that wasn't the case. Maybe he didn't know her like the back of his head, but he knew enough to know that Raelynn would rather bite the end of a bullet then become walker chow. But what about Carl? Daryl had faith that the kid would fight to the last breath in his body but he wondered if Carl had already met that heroic end just a few hours ago without them realizing it.

"Hey." He jerked his head to see Abraham walking to him, a military grade rifle on his shoulder. Daryl straightened his back and shifted the crossbow on his back.

"Ya gettin' tired there, man?"

"What's it t' ya?" Abraham smirked and shrugged, making sure to stand at arm's length from the redneck.

"I'm thinkin' it's time we head back and catch some shut eye. Pick this back up with fresh eyes in the mornin'," he said and he couldn't have sworn he heard Daryl mutter "Prick" under his breath.

"They're still out there," Daryl argued, "We ain't leavin' till we're on their trail. Longer they're out here, less chance we got of findin' them." Abraham sighed and put down his rifle against a nearby tree, shaking his head with both pity and exhaustion.

"Man, you really do have it bad for that chick, huh? Has it ever occurred to ya that she don't wanna be found? Hell, she wrote you a goddamn note. I would think her wish is as clear as my mama's eyesight, God rest her soul." Daryl huffed and pushed off the tree he was leaning against, his fists clenched into fists. One more word out of his mouth, he thought, and he was going to rip him a new asshole. But for the sake of the mission, for Carl and Raelynn's sake, he remained silent. But his head was swimming with insults.

"Hell, she wanted out and now she got it. Leave her be, Dixon. We got more important things t' worry about like gettin' our asses home and keeping Alexandria standin'." Fuck the mission, Daryl huffed as he reached for the man's collar.

"What, they ain't good 'nough for ya, huh? They ain't worth your time, that it?"

"That's enough, Daryl." A hand was placed on his shoulder and pushed him back against the tree, squeezing his shoulder to keep him there. Rick glared back at Daryl, whose nose flared and muscles clenched around the hand. But, unlike with Abraham, Daryl didn't seem compelled to hit Rick, even if he was being annoying as hell.

"Fightin'," he said, "ain't gonna bring 'em back." Daryl shrugged out of his grasp and huffed again, like a child recovering from a tantrum.

"So, what'd ya think 'bout it then?" Rick glanced at Daryl and then at Abraham. He sighed.

"I think he's right." Daryl growled and cocked his head toward his friend. He couldn't believe that he would say that.

"Your boy could be anywhere," Daryl responded, "and you're just gonna leave 'im out there? Where the walkers could bite his ass any second?" Rick crossed his arms against his chest, his eyes darkening and narrowed toward the redneck.

"I know you're worried, man. So am I, but we're not doing anythin' if we're not puttin' 110% out 'ere. Abraham's right. We gotta recharge, it's gettin' dark." Rick sighed when he didn't see any change in behavior from his friend. Dixons, he learned, were stubborn men but they were men with good intentions (which with Merle, was debateable).

"Look Daryl," he continued, never taking his eyes off the redneck, "No one's seen Carl since last night and since Raelynn left 'round that same time, odds are that he might have caught up to 'er. He's probably with her right now. So, if that's what you're worried about, I think he's safe wit' her, don't you?"

Daryl couldn't deny that. Carl was - is - a smart kid and a damn good fighter like his father. If he knew anything, he would stay with Raelynn. Or, at least he hoped that Raelynn wouldn't let him leave her side. It don't matter how street smart ya 're, Daryl admitted, it never hurt ya to be large in numbers, even in pairs. Because they would watch your back and in turn you watch theirs. Daryl sighed and ran a hand over his grimy face. His mind began to wander back to Raelynn. He wondered if she was hurt and if she managed to sneak any food into her bag before going. If he knew her at all, he would think she would be smart to sneak some supplies behind the watchful eyes of the Alexandrians. He could almost imagine her like a ninja, stealthy and agile and determined to get what she wanted. Raelynn wasn't the person to do anything without a plan. She thought about this for a while, and she admitted to it. She would've planned this for a while, maybe not to the smallest detail but the beginning, the middle and the end. Yes, Raelynn often went against the plans of other people, Daryl reminded himself as the memory of the barn popped into his head. Not even 24 hours after joining them, Raelynn Winters had managed to piss him off, impress him and jog his curiosity. With her help, he was able to provide shelter to his group when they had been trying to survive with little supplies and no roof over their heads. She had also managed to get that barn overrun by walkers, and go against Rick's plan which might have caused a few losses. But by doing so, she had saved his life. And he didn't think he ever thanked her for that. But the bottom line was that she was a planner, a person that liked to get her way.

"Alright, alright, we'll head back. But first, I got an idea," he said, looking at both Abraham and Rick. His blue eyes pierced into theirs with the same fire that he saw in Raelynn's eyes before she left, the same determination, "Follow me."


	3. One, Two, Three

"What are we doing here?" asked Rick as he, Daryl and Abraham made their way to a clearing in the woods by the railroad. Daryl, however, didn't answer. His face was glued to the ground, hoping to find any sign of their footprints. As a skilled tracker, he was confident that if there was any sign of them, he would find it. But that was the dilemma, there were no signs of any life as he checked the ground for recently broken twigs or dents in the ground. Nothing. But if his suspicions were correct, then he would find what he came for soon enough. Daryl led the group forward, until they came up to the familiar concrete that led up to the pharmacy that Carol and Raelynn had visited the day before.

Daryl remembered when she was just about to go, walking down the steps of the porch with a slight jump to her step. He had just manage to catch her in time to apologize for all the horrible things he had said to her the last time they spoke. He was out of line to call her a quitter because she wasn't one. She was a warrior. Daryl didn't know why she forgave him; he didn't think he deserved her smile and forgiveness.

He could still see the fire in her eyes and maybe something inside of him knew that that might have been the last time he would ever see her again. He knew that she knew it would be, that was what he saw in her eyes, he realized before she headed off to meet Carol and come to these very stores. It was a goodbye. Maybe there wasn't even sadness there, maybe she didn't feel bad about it.

"Daryl," hissed Rick, "Answer me." Daryl had almost forgotten that they were there he was so preoccupied with his thoughts. He had to stay focused. Because he wanted to hear from her not from a note. He made his way to the pharmacy, his hand on the handle ready to open it but allowed Abraham to stand next to him in case there were walkers that managed to get in.

"Carol said they went 'ere, right? 'N Rae went in 'ere by herself for a while?" Rick nodded.

"Yeah," he said, "She said she got ambushed by some walkers and lost 'er machete." Daryl nodded and opened the door with a jerk of his hand, and then Abraham quickly scoped the area with his rifle. Once he figured that the coast was clear, he stepped aside and allowed Daryl to enter. With his crossbow ready to shoot, he made his way through the entrance and down the first aisle. He looked around, at every nook and cranny, every fallen scrap of paper and every tile on the floor. There was blood stains everywhere, permanently etched into the tiles like graffiti - Death's signature on his masterpiece. Some of the stains were clearly old, instead of a dark runny red it was a crusty black color - some even bright red - others, Daryl noticed, were more fresh.

The stench attached to the blood told the real difference. The walker's blood had a more sludge like consistency with a rotten meat that's been left out in the heat. Fresh blood was more liquidy like thick paint and it smells and tastes metallic, like licking a dirty penny and that's what stuck out in Daryl's nostrils. The freshness of it - the liveness of it. As soon as he walked in the door and walked down the first aisle, he smelled the freshness of the blood in the tiles and he crouched down to get a better sniff of it to make sure.

"Could be the walkers," Abraham said behind him, leaning down, "There's a shitload of their bodies 'round here. Rae must have done a number on 'em." Daryl stood up, his eyes glued to the floor and his crossbow in his hands. No, he told himself. That wasn't it.

"Nah," Daryl muttered, "Might be signs of a struggle," he said with a jerk of his head to the front of the store. Abraham looked at the random aisle that was thrown to one side and another that looked to be on the verge of toppling over. Rick walked over to the aisles and cocked his head to get a better view of the area, every nook and cranny. He shook his head.

"I don't know Daryl," he said, "Abraham may be right. There's a lot of damage around here, it might just be the walkers." Daryl shook his head again, beginning to walk the available aisles again, looking for any piece - any sign that they had been there.

"Are you sure about this?" he heard Rick asked him. Daryl looked down at a walker by the dead refrigerated section where the usual sodas and beers were held before the apocalypse. The walker was still alive - well, moving, that is - and it crawled on the floor, nearing his feet at the smell of fresh meat. Clear slash marks were on its chest and head yet their legs had been almost ripped from its body - only hanging on by skin and some muscle. Daryl holstered his crossbow and used his large heavy boots to smash the walker's skull. It took a few well placed stomps and blood splatter on his jeans and shirt, but it got done and Daryl looked back at his friends, scraping off the slush from his soles.

"Yeah," he said, "Yeah, I'm sure. Keep lookin'."

* * *

"Now, Raelynn. Bring me the kid, put your hands behind your back and come over to me quietly."

Raelynn moved her neck far to one side, cracking it loudly and purposely. She moved it to the other side and cracked it again but still the tension remained. The damn near crippling tension mixed in a big pot with the boiling over anger that flowed to her fingertips. Even with that and her weakened state, she felt her lips crack into a smirk as she nodded toward the person. Her grip didn't loosen from Carl's shoulder, if anything it tightened and she heard Carl wince. This bitch, she thought. This woman thought she had the upper hand.

"How'd you survive this long, Alex? I thought you'd be dead by now."

The woman glared at her and growled, "Shut up and hand him over."

"What?" Raelynn teased with a smirk despite the gun pointed at her, "Can't I call you Alex? Or are we not close enough?"

"I said shut up!" yelled the woman and moved closer toward her, moving closer as to grab the boy while she aimed the gun at the ebony haired woman's head.

"Wait, Rae, you know her?" asked Carl behind her and she shook him sharply.

"Shut up," she muttered sharply to him and looked back at the woman with sharp narrowing eyes, "You can't pull the trigger, can you? You couldn't then and I doubt you can now. You're weak, Alex so how'd you live til now?" Alex was petite in size and like a pencil in shape. She was Asian with short black hair and a natural paleness to her. Or maybe it was the fear, thought Raelynn as she noticed the gun shake in both her hands.

"No, I don't think you can," Raelynn said as she took a step closer to her and reached for the gun. She wasn't worried about Alex, this woman that had thought she could stop Raelynn. From what she remembered, this small woman was like an ant in front of a scorpion. This was only a small setback; Raelynn would take care of it. She'd take the gun, push her down (Raelynn didn't see a reason to kill her), and get away with Carl. They would be off back to Alexandria where Raelynn would drop Carl off and be on her way in the other direction. She was already planning her journey somewhere else, maybe she'd even go back up to Chicago and see how it was back there. Maybe less shitty. She took the gun out of her hand, and saw Alex's hand limply fall to her side. Raelynn grabbed Carl and pulled him away from the campsite. But then, a shot rang out.

"Don't move, Raelynn," said a familiar voice behind her, where the shot came from. Raelynn waited for the pain and the blood; it was coming soon, she knew it. But, there wasn't any. All she felt was hot steaming lava building up inside of her and her ears ring from the shot. Oh but now that she realized _that_ , she could feel the excruciating pain coming back to her head. Goddamn it hurt so much that she felt her hand dropped the gun and press against her temple. She didn't see or hear Alex kick the gun away from her grasp. Even with the echoing pain and Carl holding her so she didn't fall over, there was another part of her that enjoyed this, a masochist piece of her that liked the tension that the voice caused. She shook her head and quieted the pain as best she could, because the anger that surged within was more powerful than the pain. That was what she liked, the pain. Because she loved the release of the anger, the blinding rage that would only end in blood and broken bones. That's what the voice made her think of: tension, blood and broken bones.

"Kara," Raelynn breathed as she turned around to face the other woman, "You're alive," she said as she noticed the other woman next to her. Three women, one blonde, one black haired and a brunette, all familiar, "And Michelle. I see you have the whole gang with you." The dirty blonde woman named Kara was tall, with long legs like a spider. Her eyes were an icy blue and her hands held a large military grade rifle, pointed right at Raelynn. Her smile was like a stab in the gut but Raelynn held her ground with her own piercing glare.

"Rae, who are they? How do you know them?" she heard Carl say behind her, and she cracked her neck again.

"I said shut up," she hissed at him which made Kara chuckle, moving her rifle pointed to her head but Raelynn didn't back down, "Kara, you and your lackeys should really move the fuck aside."

"Raelynn, be a good girl and put your hands behind your back and kid, you do the same," she said in a voice that sounded almost dead. Raelynn remained silent and her hands at her sides, to Carl's both relief and worry as they were clutched into a ball. Her eyes remained on the blonde like she was prey and Raelynn was the predator. She was watching her, waiting for a weakness. The only thing is that Kara quickly found one for Raelynn. The woman nudged the brunette named Michelle next to her and Michelle immediately stood up straighter, like a fucking robot that was just activated. She moved with short awkward steps to a large yellow duffel bag with dirt stains and it was clear to Raelynn how she lasted this long (not by her amazing survival instincts, that is). Raelynn watched in the corner of her eye as Michelle unzipped the bag and took out something with a distinct and familiar glare when the object came into view. Her machete. Those bitches took her machete. Kara smirked when she snatched it from Michelle and moved it around. Without missing a beat, Michelle pointed her revolver at Raelynn and Carl, alternating between the two.

The blade glided against the dirt, singing as it quickly sliced through the air and back down as Kara moved closer to them, her gun steady toward Raelynn.

"Does this look familiar, Rae?" Even still, she remained silent, seething with rage. It only made Kara smirk again, her yellowing teeth from lack of brushing still seemed fucking perfect and it bothered Raelynn still (even though she was given a toothbrush upon arrival at Alexandria).

"How'd you get that?" she heard Carl ask and she wanted to tell him to shut the fuck up but her throat wouldn't work. Her eyes wouldn't shift their gaze away from her machete. She was used to having it taken away after her missions in Alexandria - be it only a few times. To know that it was 'safe' in the armory was different than knowing it was in the hands of that woma

"Your friend dropped it when I knocked her out," Kara explained to Carl and then looked at Raelynn sternly, "So, are you gonna do what I said Rae or is this going to have to be the hard way?" If she did open her mouth, Raelynn was certain that it would only be inhuman sounds, grunts and the occasional comprehensible curse. Kara swung it around again like it was a toy. It pissed her off that she treated her one of her most prized possessions like a fucking toy. Kara walks around the two like a lion circling their prey, knowing that if Raelynn made a move there would be a bullet in her head. Two guns pointed at her (Kara's and Michelle's) and the one she had on the ground far from her. Raelynn knew that Kara was a predator; she knew right when she pointed the machete at Carl, the steel blade grazing his neck.

"Guess it's the hard way then," Kara said, "So, you're gonna come with us or I'll kill him."

Raelynn growled - no, she roared and rose one of her fists to the blonde, feeling the anger course through to her knuckles. Raelynn then felt a pain in her leg and she fell to her knees. Now she felt the blood, she felt the pain. She felt the fire hot bullet graze against her sweaty skin, cutting her thigh. She groaned when a pair of hands twisted her hands behind her back and the pain continued, the searing pain exploded as the person handled her roughly.

"What do you think, Rae? Do you think he'll mind if I use it on him?" Kara glared at Rae and continued as she pressed a little harder, creating a bruise in his skin, "And we both know exactly who I'm talking about."

"Bitch," Raelynn groaned as she struggled against the restraints being put on her, "You fucking bitch." Kara slide the blade closer to his neck, carefully near the large main artery and pressed it hard against his skin which made Carl wince and Raelynn struggle more. The blonde eyed Raelynn. She never did like her.

"Uh uh, I'll slash his neck. He's not important to me," Kara warned. Raelynn felt the restraints securely on as she was pulled up to her feet by, what she could see from the corner of her eye, Michelle.

"Let him go, Kara. If he's not important, let him go. Your shit is with me, don't get the kid involved," Raelynn pleaded in a loud assertive voice. The voice she knew that Kara feared, "You're not good with kids anyway. Let him go and I'll come with you."

"Rae, no!" Carl cried but Kara shook her head and kicked him in the legs and he fell to his knees. She pressed his head into the ground with her foot while Alex came over to tie his hands. Oh but her eyes, her eyes were on Raelynn the whole time, watching the fire in her eyes begin to fade as the boy she clearly cared for was being handled. She saw weakness; she saw advantage.

When Carl was secured, she lifted her foot from his skull and walked over to Raelynn who was struggling against Michelle's grip, "No, I'm gonna keep him. I know that you care for that kid; he's a weakness for you. And if he's here, you're here, and I want you here so," she said then spoke to Michelle and Alex a very business like tone, "You know what to do."

But before they could do what they were ordered, Raelynn managed to stick her leg out and kick Kara between the legs. She heard the blonde groan and squeeze her thighs together and Raelynn smirked. She didn't care about the consequences; damn that felt good.

Kara cursed at her in a pained tone and swung a punch, connecting with Raelynn's jaw, and screamed at the two other girls, pushing one harshly, "Well, what are you waiting for? Get it done! We have to move before it gets dark."

She knew what was coming but it didn't scare her. Hell, not many things do anymore. But as the first of many punches and kicks rained down on her, she was at least glad that Carl got Alex, the softie. She wouldn't hurt him that much, nothing he couldn't handle. Michelle, on the other hand, had a strong suckerpunch. She had to spit out blood a few times and tried not to scream from the pain from her grazing wound that Michelle kicked at a couple times. Fuck. Kara wasn't as dumb as Raelynn remembered all those months ago with her previous group. She was gonna be a challenge.

But she liked a good challenge.

* * *

Rick placed his hand on Daryl's shoulder, who had his back turned to his friend as he scoured the store for what seemed like the hundredth time. Daryl shrugged it off and muttered a 'keep lookin'' as he had been doing for the last hour. He had stared at the bright red blood as if it would just tell him the answers he knew that he had. Abraham had gotten fed up with Daryl's stubbornness and decided to search outside the store because his presence was 'givin' him a damn itchin for a wrench to bash his head in' just twenty minutes prior to Rick giving in to his exhausted muscles.

"Daryl," Rick said, "Let's go. They're not here so we'll come back tomorrow for check around." And then Daryl turned around, facing his friend and brother in arms. Daryl rarely wore signs of exhaustion that he didn't have earlier that day so the bags under his eyes didn't mean anything to Rick.

"She was 'ere, Rick," Daryl said softly to him, "That there is her blood. I know it. It's fresh and there were slashes on that walker back there. She was here not too long ago."

"What about Carl?" asked Rick and Daryl turned toward the first aisle and nodded toward the dirty path.

"I see footsteps but I can't tell who made 'em. Could be anybody," Daryl said.

"So that doesn't have to be her blood," reasoned Rick. Daryl looked up at his friend, his eyes darkening to a cloudy blue like an angry thunderstorm as Rick continued, "It could be anybody's." Daryl remained silent and thought for a moment. His eyes were on the ground and he chewed on his inner cheek, a habit of his. He knew Rick was right; his stubborn ass just didn't want to think about it. That blood could be anyone's; those footsteps could really be anyone's.

"We know she was here, Daryl. There's no walker swarm and no machete like she said. But there's no sign of where she went. If there were, we'd be tracking her right now but there ain't one. Let's go home, Daryl. We'll come back tomorrow and search the area." But Daryl couldn't deny his exhaustion, both mentally and physically. All the information was beginning to merge and look the same. He nodded and sighed.

"Yeah, let's go." Rick nodded as he made Daryl walk in front of him, to ensure that he was leaving, and followed him out of the store. He watched as Daryl secured his crossbow on his shoulder and glared as Abraham made his way out of the woods. His voice was strong and rugged as always, but there was something that Rick noticed in it too.

"Hey y'all might wanna see this," he said and nodded with his head before heading back into the woods. Daryl, with a new motivation, moved over to where Abraham disappeared and followed close behind, his crossbow in his hands now. Trigger finger ready for any encounter. Rick wasn't far behind, his heart pounding with anxiety. He wondered if Abraham was going to show him his son's dead body, an arm or a leg. Or worse, Carl as a walker and he would have to put a blade or a bullet through his brain. He walked on with careful steps, preparing for whatever would come their way. Abraham led them to what seemed like a random gathering of trees, about 20 minutes from the pharmacy. He sighed and nodded towards just beyond it as took a step back, holding his rifle by its strap on his shoulder. Rick followed Daryl as he moved towards where Abraham had motioned, still with his rifle close to him in case of walkers. Rick moved next to Daryl and took a look. He felt his heart and his stomach do flips inside. Because all he saw was his son's signature sheriff's hat, the one he had passed to him, on the ground covered in mud with clear footstep marks.

"He was 'ere," said Abraham, "Both of 'em were 'ere." Daryl looked down at the hat, moving the crossbow to his shoulder, thinking of the blood in the store.

"N' somethin' went wrong."

* * *

 **A/N** : Excited? Good! This ain't nothing, the best has yet to come, my lovelies.


	4. Artist

His body ached. His every muscle stung and burned with every movement of his body off the bed. He could feel the cold sweats soak into his skin and dampen his clothes, but that seemed to be a daily occurrence for Daryl Dixon. From his own nightmare upbringing and the worry of the missing people stuck in his head, it was a wonder how the redneck was able to sleep at all. He learned, however, from an early age that two things made him sleep like a baby: collapse from exhaustion or well placed jab from his old man. With the old bastard dead, Daryl made sure that he worked like an ox most days so that he didn't have to hear his father's abuse or Merle's belittling in his head. That's what he had been doing for the past two days, working his ass off so that he couldn't hear that and let the thoughts of Carl and Raelynn in danger get to him. But it seemed too late for that; it's been getting to him since he first found the note.

For two days straight, Daryl woke up from his anxious slumber to immediately get on his motorcycle and take the long trek back to where he, Abraham and Rick had found the sheriff's hat that belonged to Carl. He would painstakingly comb through the area for any sign of their movement. But the remaining wildlife had made a good job of covering up what would have been of Rae or Carl. As he rubbed his face of the wetness from his forehead, Daryl yawned and then slid on his boots (he wasn't exactly comfortable enough to undress just yet). He flicked his hair out of his face, stretched his arms as he left the house in the early morning hours of the day and headed to his motorcycle where it was usually kept. It was in this quiet when the street was empty and the sun was beating down on him that made Daryl think of a similar situation, when little Sophia went missing back at Hershel's farm. The parallels were all there. He remembered when Carol's little girl got lost in the woods and in this case, there was no one getting lost - but two people willingly leaving. It was impossible for Daryl to think Carl "got lost," because he's a smart kid. He went after Raelynn and she left all at once.

The other parallel, other than a kid in the mix, Daryl came to realize as he dragged his motorcycle out of Aaron's garage toward the gates, was that he worked hard to find them. Every damn day, for two weeks in the case of Sophia and he exhausted himself so he wouldn't have to think about that innocent little girl scared and lost in the woods surrounded by the danger of walkers at every possible moment. But now he wasn't worried about a little girl who couldn't properly defend herself. He was concerned about two people who he knew could handle themselves. Daryl tried to shrug off the anxiety he felt just thinking about it as he opened the gate (the guards let him at this point as they grew used to his stubbornness).

"Hey Daryl." The redneck, with his hands on the handles of the motorcycle as he was about to mount it, turned his head. Glenn walked over to him and Daryl nodded to him in greeting. Glenn shoved his hands into his pockets and smiled, "Got a minute?"

He grunted and turned back to his motorcycle, putting on the brake and then turned back to Glenn. With a jerk of his head, Daryl asked the guards to close the gates.

"What's up?" asked Daryl, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Is Rick going with you?"

"Nah," Daryl replied. Glenn nodded and shifted his eyes. Daryl nodded his head again as he reached into his back pocket for a cigarette and popped it into his mouth.

"What's on your mind?" The redneck asked Glenn and Glenn's eyes shifted to meet Daryl's stormy blues. He cleared his throat and Daryl noticed how serious he became, like a soldier addressing his fellow comrades or commander. Daryl couldn't decide which one.

"I just wanted to say that you should know that you're not alone in this, Daryl. I know how all this feels." Daryl cocked his head and let out a puff of smoke, eyeing Glenn.

"Alone in what? The hell are ya talking 'bout?"

"Worrying about the people you love." Daryl scoffed and took a long puff of his cigarette, holding it in for a while and then blew it out through his nostrils, his eyes never leaving the Korean man. He remained quiet and took another drag. He felt the smoke fill his lungs (probably in the midst of damaging them further, but Daryl didn't give a shit) and it warmed up his body and his blood. Damn, it felt nice even in the Virginia heat. He didn't know how to answer, so he didn't. Glenn still didn't move; his arms were crossed over his chest.

"We've all been there," Glenn consoled, "She's a fighter, Daryl. She's fine."

"Ya forgot 'bout the kid," Daryl immediately interjected, "Rae ain't the only one that's missin'." Glenn nodded, as it was an obvious fact but he had simply forgotten.

"I know," Glenn said, "But you're worried about her too. That's why you're out there looking." Daryl huffed and dropped his cigarette stub to the floor, crushing it with his foot. He glared at Glenn.

"Nobody else is doin' it. We need to get shit done while we still can. I ain't doin' this just for her, Glenn. I went lookin' for Sophia when she went missin 'cause she was an innocent lil' girl with a good mom," he said and remembered the failure he felt he saw her come out of the barn barely recognizable He didn't want to feel that again or see Rick go through what Carol did, "Carl ain't any different. This ain't just about Rae."

All this talk and no action was making him anxious and impatient. While he knew it was rude, Daryl proceeded to mount his bike again and jerk with his head to signal for the gates. Glenn stood his ground.

"Do you at least love her in that way, Daryl? Even a little?" Daryl snapped his head toward Glenn, frustrated.

"What's it t' ya? This ain't helpin' us get closer to finding 'em."

"I see how protective you are of her. You watch over her and that's okay. I'm just trying to be your friend, Daryl," Glenn said, "You care more about her than you think. You'll go crazy just keeping your thoughts to yourself. I wanna help you." Daryl hoped that the gate would open faster and he would jet out of there before he got even more uncomfortable in the situation. He and Glenn had never been close per se, but he always admired his leadership and his morals, though they may not be the same as his (and in some cases, Daryl would say Glenn's morals were fucking stupid and useless). It was because of his respect for Glenn that he didn't want to leave him planted there.

"I ain't ever used that word," Daryl said simply and in complete honesty, looking at Glenn. In all his years, he had never once loved someone. He had never told anyone that he loved them nor had anyone (besides Rick on a brotherly level) told him that they loved him, not even his own mama. But that not only bummed him out but it but it brought back memories of his shitty childhood and even shittier adulthood. He had to shake himself out of it, or at least get his mind off of love.

The gates were finally opened and he nodded to Glenn, "You wanna help? Gear up 'n let's go."

* * *

"You're lost, aren't you, Kara? I'm not surprised, you never stepped foot-"

"Shut up and keep moving," barked Kara as she pushed Raelynn Winters with the front of her rifle forward down a path of twigs, leaves and the stench of death. She winced and continued to limp on as she was told. She turned her head to the left to see Carl not too far behind her, led by Alex and gave him a weak but reassuring smile, even though the gesture itself was hard to manage. It's been two days and all they've been doing is walk in the godforsaken forest with no end in sight. At every chance she had thought of ways to escape, because the restraints weren't that bad and the trio always seemed to fall asleep around the same time. But she was in too much pain. Michelle had done quite a number on her, so much so that Kara had to give her a few stitches after her grazing bullet wound only seemed to get larger from the beating. Her every muscle ached and her head was still cloudy from the multiple blows to the head. But she had been gaining her strength slowly through the hours and she was convinced that she could get them out soon. She had to.

"You know you still haven't told me where we're going," Raelynn said.

"Why should I tell you?" said Kara, bored and frustrated with the chatterbox.

"Because you look lost," Raelynn teased, "I know these woods like the back of my hand, don't you remember."

"Oh I remember," breathed Kara as she pushed the barrel of the rifle to her back, pressing it against her sore lower back, "I remember you running away to the woods and hiding like a scared dog from her master..." Kara smirked as she saw her visibly tense up and stop in her tracks. She pushed Raelynn back into movement and motioned Alex to move the rifle from Carl's shoulder to his head for a clean shot.

Raelynn wanted nothing more than to punch her pretty fucking teeth in and ram them down Kara's throat until she choked. But, of course, that couldn't be done. She had Carl to think about and with Michelle and Alex following her orders to the 'T', it wasn't going to be easy to get away. If she so much as tried to itch her ass once, there would guns to both their temples, cocked and ready to go. It happened once already. But she had to think well and good about her actions and took more time observing them more than anything. After walking with them, Raelynn learned their small chain of command and even how it takes for all of them to get winded enough to take a break and stop for a nap. First was Kara at the top of the food chain and easily frightened Michelle and Alex. Next up, there was Michelle, the brunette who knew her place but also knew how to scare someone into submission (although, it was clear she didn't learn from the professional, like Kara); she was clearly the second in command. And finally there was Alex, who Raelynn learned to be more useful in survival than any of the three combined. She was light on her feet and quick to build a fire and secure the perimeter with an alarm system. But she didn't have any moxy to be a leader, Raelynn figured and she was easily manipulated by the two because they had carried her this far with their weapon expertise. That was one thing about her that Raelynn knew from the beginning, from before this meetup: Alex was shit with guns.

"Alright, stop up ahead. We'll rest for the night," Kara ordered and pushed Raelynn ahead further until they reached a small clearing in the woods. She pushed Raelynn against a tree and held her there, her nails digging into Raelynn's skin to keep her from moving. They took extra caution around her, Raelynn noticed with a smirk as she watched Michelle bring over Carl, just as they should.

"Alex, hurry up while we secure them for the night."

"I'm on it," said Alex and took off her backpack, taking out her necessary supplies. Raelynn watched her and then glanced at Carl to make sure he doing okay. When she was in her element and not holding a gun, Alex was a different person. She was a lot more confident and more secure of herself. She carefully and quickly started a fire with dry leaves and sticks. But Raelynn was shoved away and pushed so she faced the tree, her face grinding into the rough bark. Kara tied her hands behind her back and then tied her ankles together. For added security, she even tied her to the tree. Carl was tied in a similar way and both were kept in the view of the three kidnappers as they prepared to sleep the night in the safety of their alarm system made of noisy cans and a trap or two around the perimeter of their camp. Alex worked fast. Soon, all three were fast asleep, one of the three even snored lightly in their sleep.

"How are you holdin' up, Carl?" She asked him, who sat about a meter from her at a tree closer to the three women. It was the first time in these two days that the two had been able to talk. They were too beaten to shit to even speak and Kara took the extra precaution of only breaking for two hours while one of them watched the two prisoners for the past two breaks. Raelynn guessed they reached a point of exhaustion where they couldn't rely on just two hour naps after 6+ hours of walking for two days straight. It also brought the point that Kara brought up earlier. We're almost there. Exactly where, she had no idea.

"I'm fine, Rae. Can you get out?" She tried to shake out of the rope restraints just as she did the first time, but it seemed like they learned from their lesson. They used more than one piece of thick rope this time with the extra measure of tying not only her wrists and ankles but her body itself to the tree. As much as she struggled and felt the rope burn her arms, it didn't loosen even a little bit.

She groaned, "Fuck, these bitches learn quick." Carl looked over at Raelynn, his eyes were just like his father's. They meant business; they needed to be take seriously.

"They didn't look that strong when they first came to Alexandria." She shrugged and sighed.

"Yeah well they're just full- what a minute. What? Are you saying that you've seen these chicks before?" Carl nodded, his brows furrowed.

"Yeah," he said, "I saw when Daryl and Aaron brought them. They were the new recruits, the ones that escaped the other day. Didn't you see them?" Raelynn shook her head.

"Never had the chance, with being held against my will in the house," she muttered. She only grew angry at herself for not being there. If she would've saw them, she could've sent them packing. Or worse. Maybe none of this would've happened.

"But they know your name. And you know theirs. So, how do you know them, Rae?" She thought about lying to him. She considered telling him that he should shut his mouth and not ask stupid questions. Part of her didn't want him to know because he knew enough about her. But this was his business now, she dragged him into this shitstorm. As much as she hated to admit it, he had every right to know the truth about these bitches. Hell, to deal with them, she thought it would be best to tell him.

"They were part of Bruce's group," she muttered, "and if you couldn't tell, we didn't get along real well."

"What do they want with you?"

"Hell if I know," she scoffed, "I haven't seen 'em since I ran from that shithole. I thought they'd be dead by now. I thought it'd be me killing Queen bitch back there but I never got the chance." Raelynn heard the sounds of movement and glanced over at the three, who were still sleeping to their relief. It must have been Carl still trying to get out of the restraints.

"Why does she hate you so much? That Kara lady."

"Dunno, don't care. She always hated me since the beginning." Kara, from what Raelynn remembered, was a nurse before the turn and with Bruce's group before she ever got there. She tended to the wounds and bruises that were inflicted on her by Bruce and she did them with no sympathy for her. When Aaron asked for Raelynn on the day that he had the courage to go up to Bruce, Kara was one of the women to turn her back to him at the mention of her name. She was always a bitch; she would always be a bitch.

"Do you think they're gonna kill us when we reach wherever we're going?" She shook her head.

"Not you, at least," she said honestly, "You're their insurance, to make sure I don't kill them. Don't worry, kid. I'll get us out of here and back to your dad." At that, Carl sighed and leaned his head against the tree bark.

"What about you? Don't you want to see everyone back home? They're probably looking for us."

"For you, Carl. We've been over this already. I told Daryl not to look for me-"

"Do you really think he's gonna listen to you? He cares about you; he's going to try at least."

"That's besides the point. It doesn't matter because when we get out of this, you're going home and I'm off. I'll probably go back home to Chicago and see if it's not shit. Or somewhere else that's not here. That's the plan, end of story." Feeling a new motivation (and frustration), Raelynn went back to her knots and tried to get out of the restraints. She winced at the familiar burn and tried to keep her mind off the kid and Alexandria, the people she spent months with on relatively okay terms. She struggled and moved around the rope that she didn't feel her skin cut and her healing bullet would (thanks to Kara, the ever so helpful), burn and sting. She didn't want to think about those people she would never see and grown used to their presence. She might go down south to Louisiana, maybe see if her father survived this long. But she was doubtful of that.

"Hey Rae?" she heard Carl whisper to her and pull her from her thoughts, "Can I ask you something?"

"You should really be sleeping, kid. Heal up so we can kick their asses tomorrow." Carl chuckled and she heard him wince from the pain in his stomach. Michelle must have bruised him good.

"What were you, you know, before all this? You must have been some badass army vet, huh? With your skills," he said and she couldn't help but chuckle. Oh, that was good, real good.

"Good one," she breathed with a smile, "You couldn't be more wrong." She wasn't one to give out her information but she said it for two reasons. One: because she grew fond Carl and his maturity mixed with innocent tendencies like this one. He was a tough kid but a kid nonetheless and in need of light moments. And two, the one that she cared more about and stuck in her brain more than anything: She didn't know if by tomorrow she would be alive to see him again, considering Kara's hatred for her. For all she knew, she was already marked for death.

"Well?" asked Carl and she shrugged, a faint smile on her lips as she recalled back to her apartment in Chicago.

"Well, if you must know, I was a struggling artist that just happened to live in a shitty apartment above a martial arts dojo," she replied and she turned to Carl who had a smile on his face. He must have thought she was ridiculous but it was the truth. She struggled for her rent, sold a few of her works to local dealers and got extra cash by teaching kids in the dojo. It reeked of sweat, paint and failure.

"I don't believe you," he chuckled and she shrugged, smiling while she continued to try to get out of the tight rope restraints.

"Fine then," she said, "Don't believe me but you mix a chick with an art major, living in the ghetto of Chicago and a bad temper, and you learn to kick some ass in some creative ways." It taught her skills that helped her in this shithole. It was her life and while she didn't like it, she missed it.

She earned another chuckle from Carl.

Her smile faded as she faded back into reality, "I was nothing then and I'm nothing now. I'm just trying to survive. The past doesn't matter just try to sleep, Carl. You're getting out of here tomorrow, I promise." She needed to get him out of here at least. Because part of her worried about what was to come. The other part of her was curious was to what awaited them the next day.

She knew it was nothing good. She knew the storm was coming.


	5. Go, Run, Now

Carl woke up the next morning, with a dull pain in his side. He was convinced that he was just sore from the previous beating, still healing but it only grew as he tried to ignore it. The pain in his side shocked him again and his eyes shot up and cleared as they took in his surroundings. Still on the dirt ground, tied up and held against his will by women he didn't know until recently.

"Get up, kid," he heard Kara tell him sharply, "Get him up, Alex." Carl's head began to clear from his drowsy state as he felt a hand come around his waist and help him to his feet. He looked to his right and saw the Asian woman named Alex with a deadpan face, stoic and robotic. She knelt beside him and he felt her begin to undo his ankle restraints as she did so, he took in his surroundings. He saw Kara, her dirty blonde hair up in a ponytail and next to her was Raelynn. She looked exhausted, bags under her reddened eyes. Her black hair was disheveled from sleeping uncomfortably. She looked at Carl and nodded to him. He didn't have to hear her; he had an idea of what she wanted to say. It's okay, kid, he could hear her say. Go along with it all. We'll get out of this in no time. And he believed her because he saw what she could do. If she could kill her abuser and instill fear and respect into almost every person she came across, she would get them out of this. She had dealt with them before; surely she knew what to do.

Soon enough, the five were back on their trek further down the forest, passing a clearing and into a less dense area. His body was still recovering from the pain but Carl powered through it all and trudged beside his kidnappers. He wanted to work on the restraints on his wrists, but it proved difficult with them being tied up and a very close gun to the back of his head. Raelynn seemed to be more accustomed to this kind of labor, in her condition, because she walked at her normal pace - her shoulders straight and strong, looking forward with a dead look in her eyes. She remained concentrated and observant, so much so that Carl worried for her. He understood that she was looking out for him but he couldn't help but think about how she was handling the whole situation. She knew these girls, Carl saw how she changed when she first saw Alex. That Raelynn, the one who taunted Alex, is different to the Raelynn he saw now and the Raelynn that he knew before they ever met these women. It made Carl wonder about the Raelynn before he ever met her, the one these women knew. What was she like?

* * *

Daryl woke up the next day and decided to use the shower for the first time in a few weeks. He hadn't had the opportunity to do so till now and now seemed as best a moment to do so than ever. He was used to being dirty - hell, he damn near enjoyed it sometimes. The satisfaction of hard work and dirt underneath his nails, sweat running down his face and sore muscles made him feel damn good when there were results at the end of the day. But each passing day he went out there, painstakingly searching, turning over every stone and leaf, looking at the same patches of blood and found nothing more than what they already found. Rick kept Carl's sheriff's hat and sometimes Daryl could hear him weep upstairs. The day they found the hat, Daryl and Rick stayed for another couple of hours scouring the area for anything else. No results, just disappointment and a pat on the shoulder that said _we'll try again tomorrow._ And then tomorrow came and he went out by himself. He found what he thought could've been a foot trail and followed it a little until he came to the conclusion that it wasn't a footstep. Just a rabbit which he killed for dinner for himself. Little results.

Daryl sighed as he shrugged his crossbow onto his shoulder once again after it began to slide off for the second time that morning. The sun was blazing and the air was painfully dry, which is why he was grateful to be in a car at the moment. Well, he was bitter about it too. When he woke up this morning, he had no plans to be on a drive with Rick in one of the cars from Alexandria. He originally planned to go back to his search, maybe check the other stores or the behind them, the last resort he had to finding a clue to where Rae or Carl might be. But as he managed to get his bike out of the gate, Rick reached him and convinced him to instead scavenge with him. He refused at first, told him that Rae and Carl were still out there but Rick convinced him to go.

"She's fine and so is he. They're prolly makin' their way over here so we gotta keep this place in tiptop shape, alright? Give 'em something to come back to," he had said and while Daryl still had his reservations, he knew what Rick meant. There was a world beyond looking for Raelynn and Carl and that was looking after the he decided to go with his friend and the two traveled for a few hours before stopping the car on the side of the road. Ahead of them was pit stop, a small abandoned gas station in the middle of nowhere. And by the station were a few cars, strewn and scattered about as if they were thrown. Some were toppled over and one was on its side but most however were parked normally, as if they were just stopping for some gas and a snack. But Rick and Daryl knew better so the two approached with caution, their guns (and Daryl's crossbow) drawn out.

"Think they still got some supplies?" asked Daryl as they neared the first car. Rick shrugged.

"Dunno," he said, "one way to find out." Daryl siphoned for gas and raided the cars as Rick checked out the station. The two went separately to their tasks and when Rick had a bag of his supplies (he managed to snag a few cans of soda, tools and two magazines of ammo), he went out of the store to Daryl. He had found two empty gasoline tanks and filled them with gas from the cars.

"You ready to go?" asked Rick as he neared his friend. Daryl nodded and carried the two gas tanks in both of his hands. They loaded up the car with their gear and got into their seats. Daryl didn't bother with his seat belt, but rolled down the window just as Rick started up the car. He grunted and turned toward Rick and stopped chewing his nail (which he wasn't aware he was doing till he spoke.

"Hey," he grunted, "Why ain't you worried 'bout Carl? I thought you'd be a nervous wreck by now." Rick sighed as he put his foot on the gas and the two went back on the road, further down to scavenge more. He glanced at Daryl who looked in front of them, his eyes steady and his hand in front of his face as he chewed on his nails again. Rick chuckled and kept his eyes on the road.

"I'm always worried about him," Rick said, his lips curling into a smile, "He and Judith are all I got left. I know he's could be in danger. I think about it every second." Rick paused and the memory of the prison passed in his head. Losing Lori and almost losing his son and newborn Judith. He almost lost everything in just a few hours.

"But I know my son," he said, "and I know who he's with." He saw Daryl look at him from the corner of his eye.

"Do you trust her?" Daryl asked in a hushed tone as they passed the other stranded cars. Rick opened his mouth to speak but he was cut off by the sound of an engine, roaring like a lion ready to pounce. And ahead of them, a blockade of cars, teeming with life and people.

"What the hell is that," muttered Daryl as he straightened in his seat and his eyes narrowed. People came from behind the cars, more and more until they further blocked the way. Rick stopped the car. The two had no idea what was going on. But when they saw the guns pointed at them, they knew. It was a new threat and they were outnumbered 15 to 2.

* * *

"Good news," Kara said after two hours of silent walking in the blazing sun. Carl didn't know whether to sigh in relief when they stopped walking near an opening that had a clear path to a road, or tense up as to what she was going to say next, "Up that road is a hill and just below that hill is where our destination is. Can't be more than an hour."

Alex gulped down water as they stopped for a moment and handed the rest to Michelle, who in turn gulped more down until the bottle was empty and she disposed of the bottle in her duffel bag. Carl watched as the two whispered to each other, but Michelle kept a close eye and finger on her trigger towards Carl. Always the watchdog for her master, Carl thought with a smirk on his face. But he could feel the sense of anxiety course through him as he wondered what lay ahead. His body ached in every way, his wrists were sore and bruised, and his mouth was dry from lack of food or water. He doubted that his treatment would get any better going forward, whatever that may be. His heart beat hard against his chest and his palms began to sweat at the thought of it. He looked over at Kara, whose attention seemed to be solely on Raelynn. Her back was turned toward her as well as her gun, and her eyes too. Her blue eyes bore into Raelynn's like daggers. Carl looked at Raelynn, who leaned casually against a tree. Her wrists were bloody, Carl noticed against the ropes that were stained with her blood. The knots looked tighter than before. She was just as dirty as he was, covered in bruises and yet her eyes didn't look troubled. She didn't look scared, which surprised Raelynn. If anything, she looked calm as she glanced over at Carl. And when she glared at Kara, her eyes went dark and they stared at each other, sizing each other. She was strong, Carl thought. And it gave him confidence. If she was strong and fierce in the face of danger, so should he. He had to, if he wanted to get out of here.

"So," he said, his voice strong and sharp toward Kara, "Are you going to finally tell us where we're going? Or what you want with us?" He received a sharp butt of Michelle's rifle to his upper back, toward his neck. It sent a sharp pain down his body and he winced.

"Shut up," Michelle said sharply, "For your own good." He groaned as he shook the pain from his shoulders, even though it lingered in his muscles still and he could see Raelynn's fists tighten and maneuver against the ropes for a chance to get out again. Kara turned to him and rose Raelynn's machete to him, so close that he could feel the blade graze his nose lightly.

"Listen to her, Carl," Kara said, her voice still bright as before with an underlying darkness, "Or I'll-"

"Kara," Raelynn interrupted, her voice hoarse but filled with authority. even as she struggled to get to her feet properly, "Now." Carl's brows furrowed as he watched Kara lower the machete and take a step back towards Raelynn. The two looked at each other just like before and it reminded Carl of the old western cowboy films where the two rivals stand on opposite sides of the road and eye each other, waiting for one to make the next move. Raelynn stood nose to nose with Kara, even in restraints.

"We do this now, before we get any closer to where we gotta be," Raelynn said lowly, "You hear me?" Carl only grew more confused as he saw Kara nod and mutter something in return.

"You'll keep your end?"

"You know I do." Kara nodded once again and rubbed her chin, as if in thought. She paused for a moment and then nod again, turning to Michelle and Alex. She sighed and held a protective grasp of Raelynn, which worried Carl. His anxiety and fear began to run back into his fingertips and his toes. And then he felt all blood drain from his face and his heart skip a beat.

"Cut him loose."

* * *

Daryl took his crossbow with him. He wasn't going to leave it in the car, not a chance in hell. He felt better about that than taking it with the possibility of one of these assholes taking it. Precious things for Daryl were few and far between but the crossbow was one of those things. It saved his ass more times than he could count. There was no way these assholes were gonna have it, they'd have to pry it from his cold, dead hands and even then, hell - he might bite their ass as a walker as a pay back. Rick followed him out of the car and the two stood in front of their car, their hands in the air.

"Hey," started Rick, a calm and steady tone in his voice, the peaceful cop in him, "We don't want any trouble. We just want to pass by." It was clear that within the group, there was a leader and he thought highly of himself. He walked with a swagger in his walk and loud footsteps that you could hear the chains that connected to his boots like spurs on cowboy boots. His face was clean with a well grown beard that matched his blonde hair and his smirk was just as cocky as his walk.

"Well, I'm afraid," he said, "that just ain't gonna happen." Rick didn't falter.

"Look," he reasoned, "if you let us pass, you won't see us again, I promise. We just want to pass by." The man shook his head and his lips curled into a grin.

"No," he stated, "You just don't get it, do ya? You ain't gonna pass by. No, you're gonna give us all your supplies that you found from that gas station down the road, all your weapons and your car." Rick took his hands down slowly and Daryl eyed the men, silently analyzing the situation. And as he looked at the similar looking men (all tough looking, cocky and well armed), there was a lingering thought in the back of his mind. Was this what happened to Raelynn and Carl?

"No," Rick said, "No, we're not giving you anythin'."

"So, you'll die." The men behind the leader had cocked all their guns, taking aim. It was clear they meant business.

"Wait," Rick rushed, "Wait a minute let's talk."

"You think we'll just give it t'ya?" Daryl scoffed. They weren't tough; they were a bunch of idiots. The leader looked at Daryl and pointed his own gun at him. To Daryl, he didn't think that he would miss the shot.

"Yeah I do," he said, "It's not yours anyway."

"Whose is it?" Daryl grunted. Daryl's fingers inched toward his crossbow but his eyes remained steady on the leader. Rick looked for an opening, a strategy to somehow fight their way through 10 guys. The leader cocked his gun. Then a shot rang out. Chaos started, guns started to go off in all directions and people dropped the floor. Blood ran on the concrete and only three remained standing in the end.

* * *

"What?" asked Carl as he looked over at Raelynn, his face scrunched up in confusion. Raelynn nodded as Michelle started to unbind his hands. Carl watched on as his hands were loosened and he saw how red and bruised they were from the times he had struggled to break free. He rubbed at them when he was released and winced at how they ached. It was a dull pain and it throbbed as he lowered his hands and stared at Kara, ignoring the nudges by the other two girls. Kara nodded toward Carl, her arm firmly on Raelynn's arm.

"Get out of here," Kara said.

"What about Raelynn?" She didn't loosen her arm. She jerked Raelynn forward, causing her to stumble on her feet and Raelynn glared back at her. Bitch, she thought.

"She's not going," she said and a smirk curled on her lips as she brought Raelynn to her feet, "Rae here decided to make a deal with us."

"What deal?"

"The deal was," she started as Raelynn looked ahead at Carl, stoic in her face but her eyes, her eyes always said something, "if we let you go and promised to not kill you, she said she would stay with us. She would never leave and be our little servant, isn't that right, Raelynn?" Carl cocked his head and waited for her response.

"I said I would help you," spat Raelynn at Kara, "You're dyin' out here, you don't know shit about bein' out here. I said I would go with you to wherever the fuck you're gonna go and you do whatever you want me to do. If that means keeping your ass alive, so be it. I won't fight back."

"What if I wanted to kill you?"

"Rae," pleaded Carl.

"You would've done it already. You got somethin else for me," Raelynn said calmly.

"And how do I know that you're not lying to me? How do I know you won't try to kill me the second I turn my back if I don't have the kid as insurance." It was an exact repeat of the conversation they had earlier that day. Raelynn had a feeling it was on purpose but maybe Kara was that stupid. She hoped for the latter. Carl went on as the two went back and forth. He was amazed at how Raelynn could still smirk in that situation. She was still confident and it scared Kara, Carl noticed.

"You know me," Raelynn started, leaning on her good leg, "You know what I can do. If it wasn't for me back then, everyone would've starved because you were a bunch of pussies that didn't know anything about hunting. I kept it fed and protected. You know it. I know it. If you don't kill me, the kid's dad will if he doesn't get back in one piece. You let him go, he'll have him and forget about me. I'm all yours.

"Rae-" Carl tried to step forward but Alex kept him back, her gun pointed to him.

"Shut up," Raelynn snarled at him and turned back to Kara who watched her intensely, "Kara, I'm good and you know it. I could've killed you on the way here and you didn't even know. You only tied up my hands, so I could've bashed your head in with my foot even though it hurts like a bitch but I didn't. So, I'm not leaving. I'll help you. And if I ever try something, even once, then feel free to kill me. I don't care how." Kara chuckled and looked at Raelynn.

"I believe you," she said with a smirk, "Just like old times, huh? The master and the slave." Raelynn didn't respond and turned her head, lowering it away from Kara. She grumbled a few profanities as Kara turned to Carl.

"You heard her, she's staying so get out." Carl didn't move a muscle. He shook his head, crossing his arms against his chest.

"I'm not leaving without Rae," he said, his head high and his eyes never leaving Kara. But the leader of the three didn't falter and held onto Raelynn's arm with a vice like grip. Raelynn winced and huffed at Carl.

"Kid, go now. Do what she says.""No, not without you-"

"Now's not the time to be hot shit, kid," she growled, "That's not gonna work so just get outta here."

"But Rae-"

"He's got to 3 or Alex blows his brains out," Kara interrupted and nodded to the girl next to Carl. Alex cocked her gun and the barrel pointed to his head. Raelynn glared at him, her fists balled up tied together by the rope.

"1…"

"Go Carl, I'll be fine," Raelynn reasoned. She could see Carl's conflict in his eyes.

"But they'll never let you leave."

"So be it."

"Raelynn," he said sharply. His eyes bore into hers, his face curled up with confusion. He wanted to reason with her. Fight them, he thought. You could take them. I know you can. She could practically hear him screaming at her.

"2…"

"Goddamnit, kid! Go, go or so help me I'll let them shoot you," she growled. Carl's eyes shifted as Kara eyed Raelynn with a smirk on her face. His eyes lightened and his shoulders slumped.

"What?" Then, a rustling in the trees. The sound of crunching of leaves against the ground. Footsteps. People coming towards them. Raelynn's heart began to beat faster in her chest, thumping wildly against her ribs. It wasn't good. She turned back to Carl, who stared at her blankly. His hair covering his face clung to his skin.

"Carl, go! Run, now!"

"Oh, ho. Hold on, no one is running anywhere." Raelynn felt Kara release her arm and step away from her. She didn't care about the slow burn it made on her skin though. That voice wasn't Kara's. Footsteps were closer, right on top of them. Her skin was rising with goosebumps. She didn't have to look at her face to know it was pale.

"No," she whispered, "No." Carl watched as she remained frozen in time, one foot toward him. Her body turned to him but her head and eyes were to the ground. Her eyes were closed tightly. He noticed her hands were still tied up but they trembled into fists. Carl knew she was angry.

"No," she said louder as the footsteps finally came to a halt by her, "No, goddamnit. It can't be."

She breathed as she turned around to only meet with the chest of a man. Her eyes crawled up the person's chest to their face and then their eyes. Her body trembled. Carl thought she was angry. She was angry, at herself. As she stared up at those eyes, those poisonous green eyes that she still saw in her nightmares, she knew she was beyond angry. She was terrified.

But she didn't want to Carl see that. She stood tall, right in the green eyes of the Devil, her previous group leader - her abuser, Bruce.

"I fucking killed you." Those green eyes smiled back at her. His face curled into a grin.

"Did you miss me, baby?"


	6. Long Lost Pet

A/N: This is just letting you all know that I'll be editing the previous story (Don't Run and Survive) and this story as well, focusing more on Bruce's part. I'll be toning down Raelynn's abuse, more physically rather than mentally. I feel like I went overboard with it, going more for shock value rather than realism. I know - realism in a zombie apocalypse but all the other antagonists in the series are realistic to an extent. I feel like Bruce's abuse isn't realistic and I wanted him to be as much of a monster as possible at the time. But not anymore so I'll be toning it down - he's still going to be an asshole, not to worry.

* * *

No.

This was bullshit.

This was a fucking dream. It was fucking impossible. There was no way.

Raelynn was convinced she had finally cracked. She had finally hit the nail on her coffin and went completely mental. That was her reasoning for seeing the dead man walking. She had lost it. He was dead, had to be. Dead, dead.

"You're fucking dead," she said, shaking her head, "I fucking killed you." Her heart pounded against her chest. Her fingertips felt frozen. She had to get away. Raelynn took one step back, but her legs felt so heavy. Every breath made her feel tired. It made him chuckle and she felt sick to her stomach.

"I'm alive, baby," he said, raising his hands to gesture at himself, "Alive and kicking." His voice was like a poison apple to her. To someone who didn't know him as she did, his voice would like honey and cocaine. Tempting. Addicting. Sweet and enticing. Hell, after hearing it again for the first time in something that wasn't (or hopefully was) a hallucination, even Raelynn remembered the appeal of his voice. But within that voice, within that man and after one bite of the sweet apple, there was only poison. Deadly and dangerous poison. She didn't care that she was shaking in her boots; she didn't care who saw her. Because she was convinced this was a dream.

"You're not real," she muttered to the ground, her voice quivering. She took a step back, then another, her body working to get away from this nightmare, "You're not real. I killed you." The man in front of her chuckled and when she backed up one more time, he reached forward and grabbed her wrist.

That's what made it real. Because the other hallucinations she's had of him were all the same except one little detail. When they touched her it never felt _real_. It was always the thing that made her come out of her senses. Because when she dreamed of it or hallucinated, the touch would be like a tingle in the air. A breeze or swipe in the wind. But this one time felt real. A firm, vice-like grip on her wrist made her wince and look up at him. He looked down at her.

"Oh, I'm real, baby," he breathed, "and I've been waiting to see you again, Rae."

Her body shut down. Her mind went into panic mode. Her heart dropped and then immediately galloped at hyper speed. She was convinced she was going to die right then and there with how her heart was going. But before she could die, she knew she had to get Carl out.

"Carl, go," she pleaded with him but she was immediately shook back, right into Bruce's hard chest. Carl could've sworn he heard her whimper as she struggled against his grip.

"Oh, ho, hold on there, Rae," he said to her with a large grin on his face. He laughed, "No one is going anywhere." He looked up at Kara and the grin was gone, "Tie 'im up. He's coming with us." Carl didn't struggle as two of the girls, Michelle and Kara, tied his wrists again tightly. It seemed like Raelynn was the only one with even a tiny piece of an emotional bone left in her body. She growled and tried to tear away from his vice like grip on her arm. His nails dug in her skin and Raelynn could tell that he did it on purpose. Carl watched as she struggled. She looked like a rabid animal.

"We had a deal goddamnit. You said if I stayed, you'd let him go. We had an agreement! Let him go, Kara." But it only made Bruce laugh. He pulled her back and twisted her arm behind her back, locking her bent over at his side.

"Deal? Kara, sweetheart, you know we don't make deals," Bruce said to Kara, who bowed her head. He released Raelynn and she fell to her knees as he made his way over to Kara. At the sight of him, Michelle and Alex froze. Carl took the opportunity and went over to Raelynn, tied and all. He slid down to her on his knees and she slowly looked up and stretched her sore arm.

"It was the only way I thought she'd come all the way here. You know how she is," Kara said, her eyes snapped down to glare at Raelynn and it made him chuckle again.

"Oh Rae? She's a puppy, ain't that right, baby?" He said and turned his head toward the woman on her knees and the back to Kara, a grin on his face as he touched her chin, "You did good though, Kara. Real good." Raelynn watched in disgust (untying Carl with her unoccupied hands) as Kara leaned in and kissed Bruce square on the mouth and at first, he kissed back. Raelynn finally untied his hands and nudged him forward.

"Run," she mouthed and motioned for him to go. But he shook his head, his eyes locked on her. It would've impressed Raelynn if she wasn't more concerned with getting him out of there.

"No," he mouthed back, "Not without you." But it didn't last long until Bruce pushed Kara away, she stumbled and he wiped his mouth. He turned, with a spin in his heel, and turned back to the two who now stood up, ready to leave. Raelynn pushed Carl behind her, an arm holding him there as tightly as she could manage. Bruce smirked and stood in front of her, his arms crossed on his chest.

"Where do you think you're going, princess?" Raelynn looked up at him, stared him down and held her ground.

"Let him go, Bruce. Just him and I'll stay. I gave Kara my word," she breathed. Bruce didn't say anything. He was quiet and motionless as he watched Raelynn for a moment. Then another until he said, in a rugged and low growl.

"Forgotten your manners already, Rae? You know what to call me when you want something," he said and Carl winced when she gripped his arm tighter. Their eyes met and Raelynn was silent.

"I'm not calling you shit," she spat at him. Bruce took a deep breath and nodded. He quickly brings back his arm and punches her square in the jaw. She falls back to the ground, holding her jaw that she thinks might've cracked. She forgotten how strong he was.

"Still disrespectful," Bruce muttered.

"Hey!" Carl made a grab for the knife he had been keeping in his sock. He lunged at him with it but Bruce was a lot bigger than Carl and he pushed him off. Bruce swung at Carl too and the teenager ducked it, but he couldn't miss the other quick jab and he fell too. Bruce held him down with his foot, inching it closer to his throat. He laughed and picked up the knife that had fallen on the floor.

"You taught this kid some things, didn't you Rae? The ol' knife in the shoe trick, a classic of yours. It's a shame he's gonna have to die for trying to kill me. He's a tough son of a bitch," Bruce said, laughing as he slowly pressed his foot down to his throat.

"No!" At the sound of Carl choking and gurgling for air, Raelynn got to her feet and stood in front of the two, in Bruce's line of sight. Her eye was beginning to close from the swelling in her cheek and jaw and there was a faint line of blood on her bottom lip. Bruce kept his heavy boot on Carl's throat but there was no forced pressure as his gaze fell on Raelynn.

"Don't you hurt him," she growled, "Let him go and I'll stay. I'll come back to you, isn't that what you want? Huh?" Carl didn't know if he was losing oxygen or if he heard correctly but he knew for fact that he saw Raelynn's eyes well up with water. Bruce looked down at her and their eyes met again.

"He doesn't have anything to do with this. Let him go. You want me you got me." Bruce looked up at Raelynn, his teeth vibrant against his overexposed skin when he smiled at her. He nodded towards her.

"You know what to do when you want something bad, Rae. Don't be shy," he teased and grounded his foot hard into Carl's throat even as the teenager clawed at his boot. Raelynn growled and tightened her fists by her side. Before she could protest, Bruce looked down at Carl and pouted, "Better hurry, Rae. Kid doesn't have much longer."

She took one glance at Carl and sucked up her pride. She fell to her knees, bowed her head in both shame and respect and looked up at Bruce. His smile grew. Her body shook as she felt the tears fall down her face. Not from sadness or shame, but anger.

"Let him go, please," she begged through gritted teeth, "He has nothing to do with this. Please...sir." Bruce grinned ear to ear and removed his boot from Carl's throat, crouching down to Raelynn's height. He playfully and gently slide the knife he had from Carl along her face but she didn't seem fazed. Her eyes bore into his.

"Oh baby, he has everything to do with it now. You know that," he said as a tear fell down Raelynn's face and then another, "So I'm taking both of you now. And it'll be exactly like old times." He looked up from Raelynn's gaze to Kara who had been standing there in awe of his power, "Tie 'im up and don't fuck it up this time."

"What about her?" asked Kara as she walked over to Carl regaining his breath and proceeded to tie him up. Bruce smirked and stood up, dragging her up with him by the collar of her shirt.

"I got her."

Carl was scared. He was beyond scared. He was worried for Raelynn. He wondered how the rest of the group was doing and if his dad was coming to get him. He figure his dad would know that he was gone by now and freaking out. As he followed Michelle carefully up the hill just outside of the woods, he glanced up ahead at the back of Raelynn's head with Bruce next to her. They were close - probably not by Raelynn's choice. But she didn't seem to be putting up much of a fight. And part of Carl thought she would - hoped she would and beat the shit out of Bruce so they could get away.

"Ah, Rae, you've changed," Bruce said, chuckling.

"Fuck off," Carl heard her mutter loud enough. They continued to walk more and more, until they hit the bottom of the hill, onto the flat plain where there were remnants of a trail, leading toward the distant buildings, barely visible from where they stood.

"What do you think, Rae?" Bruce said looking over at her, "Ain't she better than sleeping on the dirt?" Raelynn would rather be sleeping in the dirt a million miles away than by his side. When she didn't answer, Bruce pushed her roughly forward, causing her to fall onto her knees. She caught herself with her hands and glared up at him, feeling her knees cut on the ground. Carl watched and rushed over to her but she shook her head.

"No," she grunted as she got back to her feet, avoiding Bruce's gaze, "I'm alright."

"Keep moving," ordered Kara and nudged Carl along and he kept forward. By the time they reached the gated area leading to the once abandoned warehouse, the day had already begun to die down, the sun was beginning to lower and Carl's feet were beginning to go numb in his heels. There were distinct figures up ahead, on the barbed wired railings up at the gate, seven of them with rifles. Guards clearly and Carl took note of how many. One of the guards, as they got closer, raised their gun at the small group and yelled to stop and state their names. But that guard was then smacked over the head by another guard and quickly yelled, "Hey, Boss is back! Open it up," to the men below in charge of the gate. The gate opened and Bruce walked forward with Raelynn's shirt gripped tightly next to him.

"Ned," he said to a dark skinned man with a jagged, deep scar on his temple, "call a meeting immediately." Ned took a glance at Raelynn and Carl, nodded, and left. Michelle and Alex headed in the other direction of the large courtyard with a small shed in the distance, where there were a dozen women, huddled in a small group as they washed clothes from buckets and spoke amongst themselves. Carl looked around, making a mental note of everything, a survey of the land. He had no idea where Bruce would take them or what he would do to them when he got there. Carl and Raelynn were taken into the building where they were met with a mixture of oil and body order. Carl wrinkled his nose. It had been a while since he smelled sweat and odor in general - thanks to Alexandria's running water and shower system. Bruce, along with Kara, led the two prisoners up a flight of stairs and he stopped by the railing, turning to them with a large grin on his face.

"Isn't this much better than your Alexandria?" Raelynn remained silent but her eyes rose up to meet his and it only made him all the more satisfied.

"That's where you were, huh, Rae? That's where you've been since you ran away from me? With a bunch of hillbillies and a kid?"

"That kid got real close to killing you," Raelynn muttered and Bruce smiled. As the crowd began to pile in the large room under them from the railing.

"Everyone," he boomed out to the rest of the people filing in, "You all finally get to meet my long lost pet, Rae," he said and patted her hair. She moved away and took a step to the side, looking down at the sight of dirty men and women. Bruce chuckled.

"Oh she's so shy," he laughed and sighed, **"** But she's finally here to stay, ain't that right, my little ray of sunshine? You see, everyone, I lost this little pup a few months ago. She was my girl, my little breadwinner. She took care of my people and I and everything was good. Until one day, she decided to attack me one day out of nowhere. She shot me in the neck and left, like a coward. Good thing for me is that our little Rae here is good at everything except shooting a damn gun. She ran off and I'm covered in my own blood. Most of my group abandoned me except one person. Kara here, stayed with me," Bruce said as he wrapped his arm around the blonde and brought her close, "She stitched me back up and stayed with me until I was well again. It took weeks and she didn't leave. Now that's a real woman, men. A woman who will give you everything for nothing in return."

And when I could finally get up and walk, all I wanted was one thing. I wanted my little pet back. I knew she was alive and she needed to be punished. And lo and behold, Kara never lets me down." Bruce chuckled and looked at Raelynn, gripping her shoulder and pushed her down to her knees. He grinned and held her by her hair, tightening his grip and her neck jerks up.

"I thought about killing her," he said as he looked down at her tear stained face and then back at his crew, "but now that I have her, I think I'll keep her. She'll serve as a reminder to all of you and to herself as to what happens when you fuck with me."


	7. Somethin'

Daryl Dixon was a man with little standards and didn't give a damn if he had to sleep in an alleyway or put a bullet in someone's head to save one of his friends. There were a lot of people in this world and he didn't have a lot of friends, let alone when it's someone he cared about - more than a friend, more than any one night stand at a bar he had back before the turn. He didn't know why - he didn't care why, all he wanted was Raelynn and Carl safe and back home. If they weren't then he've guessed things would be changing soon. And so far, he was right because he had just narrowly escaped a band of bikers about to execute him and Rick. He could hear his heart pounding against his chest as he and Rick began to move the bodies to one side to make room for the car to pass. As they did so, the two turned around back to the car and the figure moving toward it.

"Hey," said Rick, "We wanted to thank you for helping us. If it weren't for you, we probably wouldn't've made it." Daryl didn't make a noise. He watched as the figure turned to them, only their eyes visible from the mask covering their nose and mouth. He wore many layers of dirty clothing and large boots, a backpack and a revolver in his hand. He barely used it, Daryl remembered. Just one shot to distract them, while Daryl and Rick made a grab for their weapons. The rest was some ninja work that Daryl - if he weren't suspicious of the guy - would've thought was real impressive.

"How can we repay you? What's your name?"

"The name's Paul Rovia," the man muffled against his mask as he reached for it and took it off, "But people call me Jesus." Without a second thought, the man cocked his gun, pointed it toward Rick and reached for his other one in his holster.

"I'm gonna have to ask you for the keys to that truck." Rick's smile faded and his eyes darkened. Daryl sighed and gripped his crossbow tighter in his hand. Son of a-

"Now," Jesus said sharply, jerking his gun and Daryl looked to Rick on his opinion. Rick looked exhausted, more than he did despite going out every day to look for some type of trail. His eyes were dark and the bags under his eyes were worse than his. Rick glanced at Daryl and nodded, lowering his gun to the ground.

"Why'd you help us if you were just gonna steal from us?" asked Rick as he reached for the keys in his pocket. Daryl wanted to punch the guy - fuck whatever his name was - in the face. Daryl has little standards but one thing he did not tolerate was when people fuck him over. He couldn't stand it. Jesus shrugged.

"I needed you guys alive," he said simply, "Those guys were gonna kill you and take your stuff. I just want the stuff. Besides, the less of them there are, the better." Daryl growled and glared at the man. Jesus looked at him as he made his way to the truck, never turning his back.

"How do you know them?"

Jesus opened the door to the truck and put on his mask, "If you crossed paths with them now, that means they know about you. You'll know soon." Daryl and Rick watched as the masked man drove off their supplies and he groaned in frustration, kicking a rock by his foot.

"Where's he gonna go? Nothing for miles," Daryl muttered and Rick put his hand on his shoulder, shaking his head.

"He's gone," Rick said, "Let's keep going on foot. Maybe we can find Raelynn's trail this way." Daryl ran a hand across his face, rubbing at the dirt and sweat. He nodded, picked up his crossbow and sighed.

"Alright, but if I see 'im again. He a dead man."

* * *

An hour walk down the main road brought up with nothing good enough to be considered a trail. The only track worth following was the tire trail felt behind by their runaway truck. Daryl managed to snag a soda in his pocket from the supplies that were stolen from them. He cracked it open and slurped the sweet sugary drink, passing it to Rick, who drank from it without touching the mouthpiece. With no other leads, Daryl nodded to his friend, pointing to the ground.

"Looks like he started t' swerve," he said and jerked his head towards the tire burn marks going toward the forest.

"Maybe he's hurt," Rick said.

"Maybe he left our stuff," Daryl muttered, "We gonna follow it?" Rick rubbed at the scruff of his growing beard. He eyed the tracks and contemplated his next move. They needed those supplied for his people. Daryl watched and waited for the go ahead and Rick nodded, walking into the forest with his gun out, cocked and ready to go. Daryl put his crossbow on his shoulder and slowly followed behind Rick. The two followed the tire marks and the sunken ground where the tired passed. It went on for a few more feet and then he smelled it. Gasoline - and getting stronger. He relayed it to Rick and the two picked up their pace, following both the scent and the tracks that began to get more erratic and jagged. He was losing control of the damned truck. They trudged on, jogging forward and then they heard a crash - metal, wood crunching, more gasoline in the air. Shit, Daryl thought. The prick crashed the damn car. Daryl grunted and headed left toward the scent and the crash, Rick following close behind with his pistol drawn.

It didn't take much longer for the two men to come scross the wreckage, the white truck crashed against a large fence, throwing it a few feet. The truck smoked from the engine and the front was smashed, the steel fence went through the grill and the force popped open the back. Daryl looked at Rick and Rick motioned for Daryl to go to the driver's side while he went on the passenger's side of the truck. Without hesitation, Daryl carefully stalked up to the door, jerked it open and pointed his crossbow. He heard a groan. He saw a huddled Jesus in the driver's seat, his upper half sprawled across the passenger seat. Daryl took hold of his jacket and moved him to a seated position and took a quick glance at his face. He wasn't dead, just a cut forehead as far as Daryl could tell. He confirmed that he was relatively okay when Jesus started to wince whenever he moved his seat. At least he was alive.

"Get 'im out," Rick told him and went over to the back of the truck, opening it. Daryl dragged him out of the truck and Jesus stumbled to his feet. Daryl pushed him along to the back of the truck where Rick was packing as much supplied as he could.

"Best get out of 'ere, it's leaking gasoline," Daryl said, "one spark and it's goin up in flames." Rick nodded and grabbed Jesus to help him stand as Daryl went to pack as much as he could. Once his bag and pockets were full, the three of them headed out of the woods and away from wreckage. Jesus scrapped against trees and shrubs as Daryl carelessly dragged him one way then the other until the three were back on the main road. Jesus groaned as he became more aware of his surroundings and stood up straight, holding his head in pain (and annoyance).

"You did that on purpose," he muttered, glaring at the redneck. Rick smirked at Daryl, who didn't react. He had his crossbow close at hand, at the ready in case he tried something funny.

"Shut up," Daryl retorted and turned to Rick, "What do we do with 'im?" Rick wiped the sweat from his forehead and turned his body toward Jesus (he was debating whether or not to call him Paul or Jesus. He settled for the latter, seemed more right to the tongue). The man, Rick now realized had along scruffy beard and dirty tan skin, which made Rick come to the conclusion that perhaps, Jesus had out here for some time and needed shelter, food and other basic needs - like Alexandria.

"How many walkers have you killed?" Daryl's eyes shot up to meet Rick's.

"Rick, no," he said gruffly, looking over at Jesus who furrowed his eyebrows and listened closely.

"What?" Jesus asked, confused.

"Answer the question," Rick persisted.

"A lot? I don't know," Jesus answered and Daryl lowered his head as he shook it.

"He almost killed us, stole our damn truck, and you wanna bring him back t' Alexandria?" Rick turned his attention to Daryl, who for a moment was afraid that Jesus would take advantage of the moment and attack them but one glance at his unbalance and constant complaint about headaches made it clear he was fine.

"Raelynn almost killed you, threatened to kill Glenn and me, tried to steal our supplies but we still brought her in," Rick countered. Daryl cursed internally, annoyed at the fact that Rick was completely right.

"I didn't agree then either," he muttered.

"H-Hey, don't mean to interrupt your little spat," mumbled Jesus, taking a step forward, his eyes squinting probably from the pain still as he stumbled, "but did you say 'Raelynn'?" Daryl's eyes darkened and darted to him and brought up his crossbow up to Jesus's face.

"What do you know 'bout 'er, huh? Where is she?" Daryl growled and Rick put a hand on his shoulder. Jesus had his hands up in defense, his eyes alternating between open and close, staring at the arrow just inches from his eyes.

"Hold on," Rick interjected before Jesus could say anything, "How do we know we're talking about the same Raelynn?" Daryl scoffed and brushed off Rick's hand, pushing his crossbow closer to Jesus.

"H-Hol' up there," stammered Jesus as he shook his head roughly, most likely from the pain or dizziness, "Ugh. It's...It's all good…Rae-Raelynn was…"

"Ain't many wit' that name 'round these parts," Daryl reasoned and nodded toward Jesus, "How do you know Rae?" Daryl's adrenaline was sky high, so much that his trigger finger twitched and itched to press down. He hit a break in the case and he needed answers. Rick look at the man who tried hard to keep his balance, clearly in pain but it didn't matter to him in the slightest at that moment. If Jesus knew about Raelynn, then he may know about Carl. He might've seen them recently. Rick felt his heart skip a beat at the mere thought of having his family back together again.

"Have you seen a boy with her? Are they okay?"

But before they could get any more out of Jesus, he groaned and stumbled onto the floor. He could've cracked his head open if it weren't for the backpack he had on that cushioned his fall. Daryl sighed and took a step back, lowering his crossbow.

"Damn it," cursed Rick and ran his hand through his hair in frustration. They weren't going to get anywhere with Jesus in that condition. It was the only lead that they had and neither Rick nor Daryl wanted to let this pass them by. The two exchanged looks and nodded. Without a word, Daryl slung his crossbow over his shoulder and knelt down to Jesus's level. Rick was on his other side and each of them put one of his arms over their shoulders.

"You're comin' with us, alright?" Rick reassured a tired Jesus. Jesus groaned and nodded weakly. Daryl grunted and nudged Jesus upright, patting his cheek roughly to rouse him. Daryl resisted the urge to smack him silly.

"Wake up, asshole. C'mon, stay awake," he advised as they made their way down the road. Daryl prayed to whatever God out there that they'd find some kind of transport. The two dragged the man down, taking breaks for the two of them every so often until they reached the station where they found the truck in the first place. There were some abandoned cars but with no gas, they were just on display and even then it was too damn hot to sit in and take a break. Rick sat down on the ground as they caught their breath, panting like a dog. Jesus had his head against a car door, his eyes fluttering between open and closed.

Daryl sighed and snapped his fingers in front of Jesus's fingers to which the nearly unconscious man twitched and opened his eyes fully, "We ain't losin' you now, almost there." Neither of them wanted to say that there were at least 3 more hours of walking left to do. But it was the reality of their situation, and Daryl fucking hated it.

Suddenly, in the far distance, there was a loud bang followed by a ball of fire and smoke rising from the the tall trees. The noise made Jesus jolt up to his feet and snap his head in every direction. Rick smelled the smoke from their position and looked over at Daryl.

"Someone did that," Rick said, gesturing with a jerk of his neck to the flames, "That wasn't goin' to happen without a spark." Daryl nodded and got to his feet, taking off his crossbow from his shoulder and held it ready in both hands, "Means someone's there and getting closer to us." Daryl nodded, not bothering to move the hair out of his face and was startled when he heard a static come from his bag. Rick couldn't help but chuckle as the man jumped slightly and opened the bag to find the source of the sound.

"Daryl, do you copy? Rick?" Daryl pulled out a walkie talkie by the antennae and drew a sigh of relief. He didn't remember putting it in the bag but now he was incredibly grateful that it was. He pressed down on the receiver.

"Carol? We're here," Daryl answered.

"Are you okay? There was an explosion."

"We're fine," he said and then glanced at Jesus, "hey Carol, can ya get a car and come get us?"

"Tired, already?" she teased and Daryl cracked a smile.

"We found somebody 'ere that needs help. Dumbass got a bad concussion," Daryl said. Carol didn't respond immediately. Rick took the walkie talkie and added, "We ran into some trouble and lost our truck of supplies. We'll explain when we get there, it'll take us hours to drag 'im back home. We need the car."

"Alright, hang tight. Just tell me where you are and I'll send Sasha." Daryl relayed their position to Carol and she signed off.

* * *

The next morning, Daryl made his way to the infirmary, now run by a woman named Denise. He liked this Denise woman more than Pete, but then again he'd like anyone more than he liked Pete, after what Pete had done to both his wife (now widow), Jesse, and Rae, too.

All that was besides the point, he thought as he opened the door to the infirmary, the smell of alcohol filling his lungs. The point of all of it was to see Jesus and get information out of him. As soon as they brought him to Alexandria, Sasha helped Rick and Daryl take him to the infirmary where Denise immediately went to check on him. She concluded that he indeed had a concussion and needed to watched for the rest of the evening. He wouldn't have any visitors until she was sure he was alright, which annoyed Daryl. When he heard her name out of Jesus's mouth, Daryl felt hopeful but also concerned. Fear.

What did he know? How did he know?

Those were questions that would finally have answers, even if he had to beat him into another concussion to get them. Daryl walked over to the bed where Jesus was lying down, Denise was at his bedside.

"You really shouldn't bother him," she said to him, "he still hasn't fully recovered from the concussion." Daryl looked at her and then shifted his eyes to Jesus, whose eyes started to flutter open.

"Too bad," Daryl muttered and walked to Jesus's side as he took in his surroundings, "Who are ya?" Jesus groaned and sat up in his bed.

"Well, good morning to you too."

"Answer the question," said Daryl and repeated the question that burned in his head.

"I told you, my name is Paul Rovia, but everyone calls me Jesus," he said.

"Where did ya come from?" the redneck asked and Jesus groaned, and Daryl changed his question to the one he wanted to know more, "How do you know Rae?"

Then, the door opened again and in came Rick, out of breath, eyes darting from one place to another until they reached Daryl.

"Come on, found something," Rick breathed, nodding towards the door. Without question, Daryl left Jesus and walked over to Rick and he led him toward Deanna's place.

"What'd you find?" asked Daryl as they stepped up to the door and Rick knocked on it. The constable looked at his friend and said, "Abraham and Sasha found someone that saw Carl and Raelynn."

The door opened and Deanna looked at the two men, nodded in greeting and let them inside without word. Rick led Daryl to the part of the room where Deanna usually conducted her interviews. Abraham leaned against a wall, pulling out a long cigar from his inside pocket and bit down on it. Sasha had her hands in front of her, stood up straight and looked up at them when they arrived.

"We found him about a mile away from the drugstore where you thought Raelynn was last. Originally, we were there to gather some wood and supplies after what happened yesterday with you guys, everything was going well," Sasha explained. Abraham nodded as Daryl opened up his lighter and leaned forward so Abraham could light his cigar. He did so and puffed it a few times, before taking it out of his mouth.

"So we take a step back, calm our tits and then I see this geezer lookin' at us," Abraham continues, "He books it right as we notice but the lady here drops everything and catches up to him. So why don't you tell them what you told us, old man?" Daryl's eyes darted to the man that now sat in the chair in front of the bayside window, the light shining on him and showed all his wrinkles on his face, clothes and skin. The man was old, ancient seemed about right. His eyes even had wrinkles, hooded over. His clothes were tattered, and his white hair came out in tuffs from his head. How this man survived so long was beyond Daryl's knowledge. But he didn't speak. Abraham grunted and nudged the old man forward. The senior huffed and snarled at him, barely any teeth to do a dog justice. Rick stepped forward, took a knee and met the man's weak but dark stare.

"We have people out there," he pleaded, "They might need our help." The man grunted and lazily sat up in his seat, almost like he just woke up from his afternoon nap.

"I told this here ape that I wasn't gonna help them if they were lost - no sir," The man's voice cracked and whistled, "I helped out them other group and that bitch almost chopped my head off with that machete." Daryl cracked his neck to the side, in an attempt to relieve some tension and itch to shake it out of the old man. His heart, like Rick's, pounded out of his chest.

"A woman? With black hair? Black shirt? Did she have a kid with her?" Rick asked. The man shook his head, waving his hand for emphasis. He almost looked like he was about to fall asleep.

"No, this bitch was a blonde. Couldn't find her way through the woods. You see, I lived here all my life so I know these woods like the back of my hand so I thought I'd help her out. That is, till I saw her little girlfriends carryin' the bodies 'hind her. She threatened to chop my head clean off if I didn't help her so I did and I ran like hell after." Daryl's heart that was beating out of his chest suddenly stopped. His eyes flickered to the ground and bite his inner cheek.

"Bodies?" Deanna asked as she walked closer in the room, sitting in her hair across from him, her hands clasped together in her lap. The man nodded slowly.

"Yes, ma'am. That black haired woman and kid you're lookin' for," he said, looking at Rick, "I asked the bitch if she needed wood to burn them bodies before they turned but she said that they were just knocked out. Needed to find a safe place to lay low till they woke up. So I give them my backyard, pretty well guarded mind you, n' tell them they best be gone by mornin." It was silent for a minute as those in the room took in what the man said.

"Where'd they go after?" asked Daryl. The man shrugged and waved it off.

"Dunno, don't care. They all left in the mornin like I said. Hmph, damn right, they did."


End file.
